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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23055256">Whatever You Do, Don’t Miss</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetwolfraven/pseuds/violetwolfraven'>violetwolfraven</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, M/M, Marauders era, Robin Hood AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:35:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,315</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23055256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetwolfraven/pseuds/violetwolfraven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James Potter is a respected lord. Robin Hood is an outlaw. Nobody knows they are the same person, but everyone knows they both have a thing for one woman; Lily Evans. Robin may not have a chance with her, but James might. Only one catch: everyone besides a small merry band of Marauders thinks that James Potter is dead.</p>
<p>(This is my fanfiction for Fandom Trumps Hate!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, Jily - Relationship, dorlene - Relationship, wolfstar - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robin Hood stalked through the underbrush, careful to stay silent. His camp needed this deer. With more and more refugees coming in, it was getting harder to feed everyone.</p>
<p>The wind was blowing towards him and the deer was distracted by drinking from the river. Robin nocked an arrow and slowly raised his bow.</p>
<p>That was when the animal looked up.</p>
<p>Seeing its wide, innocent eyes, James Potter might have let it go.</p>
<p>Robin Hood couldn’t afford to.</p>
<p>James allowed himself a smile. Sirius would have called him overdramatic for thinking something like that. But since James Potter <em>was</em> technically dead, he got to think as many overdramatic internal monologues as he wanted to.</p>
<p>He let the arrow fly, knowing he wouldn’t miss.</p>
<p>
  <em>What a shock. The deer was now dead.</em>
</p>
<p>James slung his bow over his back and walked out to get the stag.</p>
<p>”Sorry,” he mumbled to it as he picked it up over his shoulders, “But you’ll feed half my camp. I hope you can forgive me, boy. I wouldn’t have killed you if I didn’t have to.”</p>
<p>The deer, being dead, didn’t respond.</p>
<p>”Yeah, I wouldn’t forgive whatever poor bastard shot me, either,” he said, heading back into the trees, “I’d haunt them until they joined me.”</p>
<p>Funny, how conversations with dead deer always ended up super one-sided.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Sherwood Forest was technically the name of the entire forest James made his home in, but everyone knew it as a village. A safe place for refugees with no where else to go and outlaws who wouldn’t be outlaws under <em>fair</em> laws.</p>
<p>Of course, it was the fact that in the almost two years since Robin Hood had become active, Sheriff Snape of Nottingham <em>still</em> hadn’t been able to find it that was really of interest to most people.</p>
<p>Well, James didn’t consider himself particularly clever for having outsmarted that particular sheriff. He’d done it so many times that it’d almost lost the fun. But he had to admit that Sherwood Forest was probably the greatest thing he’d ever done. Creating a safe haven for  people that weren’t supposed to have one.</p>
<p>There was a reason nobody found it unless the Merry Band wanted them to.</p>
<p>See, one of the many things that made James different from other rebels, revolutionaries, and outlaws that had failed to outsmart Snape, was that he didn’t give much care who or what you were. If you were strong enough to pull your weight and willing to help people who couldn’t pull theirs, he was willing to do the research to let you join the Merry Band, be you man, woman, or magical creature.</p>
<p>Honestly, the fact that other defiant people hadn’t accepted everyone was why James thought they failed. Most of his Band <em>did</em> happen to be ordinary human men, since a lot of people didn’t know he’d accept anyone, but he certainly didn’t know what he’d do without at least three members who didn’t fit that category.</p>
<p>”You’re late,” Remus complained as James climbed the final rung of the hidden ladder.</p>
<p>Remus’s code name was Moony, and he was about the smartest person James had ever met, besides maybe his own father. He was useful in many ways, mostly in making plans, besides just being James’s friend. But what really made him unique was his abilities as a werewolf. Though they had to lock him up every full moon, and his transformations were so terrible that James wished he didn’t have them, he had to admit that his friend having enhanced senses and a way with animals often came in handy.</p>
<p>”Well, in my defense, I was hauling in game,” James pointed out.</p>
<p>”I could have done it faster,” Sirius put in.</p>
<p>Remus scoffed, “Sure. You shot two squirrels in half the time Robin got a deer. What an accomplishment.”</p>
<p>Sirius, known as Padfoot, had known James the longest. Honestly, they’d known each other since they were born and been best friends since. Though he himself was better, James could admit that nobody else could beat Sirius at archery. Besides that, his gift for tracking and way with dogs specifically had earned him his code name.</p>
<p>James started heading towards the supply house, checking around to make sure nobody was around to listen before dropping the code names. </p>
<p>”So, how are my two favorite boys?”</p>
<p>”Three,” Peter corrected, popping up from behind Remus.</p>
<p>”Three. Sorry, Pete. Didn’t see you.”</p>
<p>”It’s fine,” Peter said brightly, “Just means I’m getting good at blending in.”</p>
<p>Peter, also known as Wormtail, was honestly like a baby brother to James. He was small for his age, even being the same age as the rest of them. And if James was being honest... he wasn’t good for much. In a fight, he was a liability. However, they’d recently discovered that he looked like the last person Robin Hood would have in his gang, making Peter perfect as a spy.</p>
<p>If James had a spare hand, he might have reached over to punch his friend’s shoulder.</p>
<p>”So, how did <em>your</em> mission go?”</p>
<p>Peter’s smile faded, which was uncharacteristic of him. Not a good sign.</p>
<p>”I pretended to be a servant and the guards ignored me. They’re moving all the valuables in the castle due to your threat, but...”</p>
<p>As Peter’s voice trailed off, James knew what he was saying.</p>
<p>”They don’t care enough to move her,” James guessed, surprising himself with how level he kept his voice.</p>
<p>Peter nodded, “Yeah. I’m sorry, James.”</p>
<p>James could sense his friends’ worry, and realized that they’d stopped moving in the middle of the rope bridge. That wasn’t safe. Technically speaking, James trusted the bridges he’d help build, but 4 teenage boys standing in the middle of one for an extended period of time seemed like a limit they didn’t need to test.</p>
<p>James kept walking. He could tell his friends wanted to ask if he was okay, but he stayed silent, making sure to put off plenty of vibes of ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’</p>
<p>See, James had recently threatened to take Nottingham castle, hoping the threat would be enough to make Snape decide to move everything and everyone somewhere else. The caravans would be significantly easier to attack, so they could redistribute the wealth inside as needed and the contacts they had inside the castle could finally come home.</p>
<p>And maybe there was one person in particular James wanted to get out.</p>
<p>Lily Evans had been his best friend growing up, besides Sirius.</p>
<p>The two of them hadn’t gotten along initially. The fact that they were betrothed didn’t help, both of their 7-year-old selves having an unspoken agreement to hate the other. If they worked badly enough together, maybe their parents would let them not get married.</p>
<p>But hours of being forced to spend time together meant that they’d started learning things about each other. Lily was expected to become a lady while James had to become a knight. Eventually, they’d figured out that they both loved to rebel. They’d gotten quite good at it. They’d fake a fight so they could storm off in opposite directions and meet up outside to do things they definitely weren’t supposed to do.</p>
<p>Girls weren’t supposed to fight, and boys weren’t supposed to do domestic tasks, but James and Lily did both. She’d taught him how to sew and play the violin. He’d taught her how to fight and hunt. They hadn’t fallen in love, but they’d gotten along wonderfully.</p>
<p>But then they’d turned 15, and Lily looked really pretty when she beat James in a fight for the first time, her red hair blazing in the sun and her green eyes flashing as she helped him up. </p>
<p>
  <em>“You got lucky, Evans.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>”Maybe. Or maybe Lord Potter of Locksley will have to tell all his fancy lord friends that his lady beat him in combat.”</em>
</p>
<p>Lily’s face had turned red as she realized what she’d said. In 8 years, they’d never brought up their betrothal when alone. When they were spending time like this, sparring or practicing whatever type of music, they were just James and Lily; not the future Lord and Lady of Locksley.</p>
<p>Lily had looked like she expected James to hit her or something, like he would have when they were children. </p>
<p>Somehow, he didn’t mind her bringing it up anymore, and he’d just backed up, raising his sword.</p>
<p>
  <em>”Ready for another round, M’lady?”</em>
</p>
<p>James shook himself out of his thoughts as he reached the treehouse they were headed for.</p>
<p>”James!”</p>
<p>James almost fell off the platform around the treehouse as a blonde ran to hug him.</p>
<p>”Hello, Marlene. Fancy seeing you here.”</p>
<p>”Well, it is my hut, after all.”</p>
<p>”Get off him, dear,” Dorcas grumbled, coming out to grab her partner, “He’s already carrying a stag.”</p>
<p>Marlene rolled her eyes, “Well, I know <em>that</em>, Dory. I’ve got a long day ahead of me skinning and cooking the thing.”</p>
<p>“You got it?” James asked as he passed the deer’s weight off to the blonde.</p>
<p>”Yup. You can let go, now, James.”</p>
<p>He did, and Marlene disappeared into the treehouse to prepare it.</p>
<p>Dorcas leaned against the doorframe, “I heard they aren’t moving Lily.”</p>
<p>James nodded, “They don’t think it’s necessary. They don’t think I mean it.”</p>
<p>”They <em>are</em> moving all the valuables, just to be safe,” Sirius put in, looking disgusted.</p>
<p>Dorcas nodded, “Typical, then. I guess we won’t be seeing our favorite redhead for a while.”</p>
<p>The silence was tense, and James could tell that all his friends were as unhappy as he was. They missed, Lily, too. Sirius had, of course, known her growing up. Dorcas and Marlene had been her handmaidens. And Remus’s and Peter’s fathers had worked for James’s, and Lily had never cared much about status when making friends, so they’d grown up knowing Lily, too.</p>
<p>James took a deep breath and forced a smile, “I’ll focus on getting Lily home. You just focus on maintaining the shield around this place.</p>
<p>”Please. This cloaking spell is so simple I can maintain it in my sleep.”</p>
<p>”Well, my dear Dorcas, I know absolutely nothing about magic, so I suppose I have no choice but to trust you.”</p>
<p>”While you’re at it, give me your cloak. I see you ripped it <em>again</em>, and Marlene will want to fix it when she’s done with the deer.”</p>
<p>”Okay...”</p>
<p>James had, in truth, not even noticed he’d ripped his cloak, but he knew better than to challenge the resident witch.</p>
<p>“Are you as alright as you’re making it seem?” Remus asked as they left the treehouse.</p>
<p>”Yeah, mate,” Sirius agreed, “This was our first opportunity to get Lily back in...”</p>
<p>“1 year, 4 months, and 8 days,” James finished, “I know.”</p>
<p>“We’ll get her back eventually,” Peter promised.</p>
<p>James chuckled, “She thinks I’m dead, boys. What makes you think she still cares for our merry band of marauders?”</p>
<p>”Simple,” Sirius said with a grin, “Because Snape could make hell freeze over before he gets Lily Evans to stop caring about people in need.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily had heard all the lines. She’d heard every excuse for not letting her leave the castle grounds. It was too dangerous. Robin Hood and his gang were out there. She could get hurt.</p>
<p>None of them infuriated her as much as ‘you are too young and inexperienced.’</p>
<p>Severus meant that Lily didn’t know how the world worked. She didn’t know about death or about how to avoid it in battle. She was a pretty little flower, meant to watch as her husband went off to war and she worked on needlepoint or played sad music while he was gone.</p>
<p>Lily was young, true. She was only 17. But she wasn’t inexperienced. Judging by what little she’d watched of Severus training, she’d be able to beat him in a fight easily. And she’d been playing a part for over a year now, gathering influence, assembling a network of informants who gave her intel no one else could get, planting spies in places nobody would expect them, getting innocent people out of jail quietly, one at a time so no one noticed until half the prisoners were already gone...</p>
<p>Lily Evans was the most dangerous person in Nottingham castle and nobody knew it.</p>
<p>It was like her old tutor, Lady Mcgonagall, would say. </p>
<p>
  <em>”A good lady keeps a smile on her face when she feels uncertain. A better one keeps a smile on her face and a hand on the knife behind her back.”</em>
</p>
<p>Knives, of course, weren’t Lily’s preferred weapon, but Lady Mcgonagall had meant that metaphorically, anyway.</p>
<p>It was so hard to get in practice time, nowadays. Someone was always watching. If Lily was lucky, it was one of the guards or chaperones of her choice, who would sneak her out for target practice or sparring instead of a walk in the gardens. If not, she had to steal moments to keep her muscles strong and her reflexes sharp.</p>
<p>So often, she wasn’t lucky.</p>
<p>But Lily would never let that break her. James wouldn’t have. He hadn’t let anything break him. He’d stood up to Lord Malfoy and Sheriff Snape, and it had cost him his life.</p>
<p>James had been brave and stubborn and foolish. He’d died because he couldn’t be patient and concoct an actual plan. He’d acted like he could say anything and it wouldn’t come back to haunt him. His knife had been right out in the open and it had ended up being the steel struck against flint, lighting a fire and burning him down.</p>
<p>Lily wouldn’t be as careless as James.</p>
<p>She would never let them see the knife behind her back until it was buried in their throats.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James struggles with his refugee problem as Lily tackles a family issue.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James honestly didn’t care how it worked. Dorcas had tried to explain how she made the magical flames not burn the trees or the platform they were on, but cook the food just fine, but it fascinated exactly no one but Remus. All James cared about was that it cooked their meals without burning the entire forest down, which was good for several reasons, but a main one would be that that would severely damage the Merry Band’s relationship with the local dryads. </p><p>The campfires were always fun. On bad nights, people huddled together for warmth and James got to watch several pairs of his Band pretend it was just for warmth. On good nights, the refugees danced and everyone sang and played instruments and James got to ‘wow’ everyone with his violin skills.</p><p>Tonight was, despite the earlier news, a very good night.</p><p>Even though James didn’t particularly feel like joining in, he still enjoyed watching the others having a good time, playing some folk song and dancing around the fire. It was a small pocket of happiness in an otherwise mostly dreary kingdom, where fun was a luxury most couldn’t afford and those who could were usually too busy making sure others couldn’t to actually have. </p><p>Also, watching Peter and Sirius teach a small group of rowdy 10-year-olds how to dance while Remus taught the shyer ones to read was always fun.</p><p>”Robin?”</p><p>James was so busy distracting himself from his problems that he didn’t notice Marlene coming until she was right next to him.</p><p>
  <em>Some Robin Hood you are, Potter, letting your guard down enough for someone to sneak up on you.</em>
</p><p>”What is it, Marl?”</p><p>The blonde was uncharacteristically serious, not smiling the way she usually did.</p><p>”What’s wrong?”</p><p>”James,” she said, quietly enough that no one else would hear, “We have a problem. With the refugees.”</p><p>”What problem?” James asked immediately, “A mole?”</p><p>”No,” Marlene said quickly, “Nothing like that. James... there’s too many people here. It’s not just that <em>we</em> can’t feed all of them. It’s that<em> the forest</em> can’t feed all of them. Sherwood can’t support this many people.”</p><p>”We’ve been over this,” James insisted, “We don’t turn away anyone who needs us.”</p><p>”I understand that,” Marlene agreed, “But James, even with you, Sirius, and every other hunter we have going out every day, <em>and</em> me and the girls foraging whatever we can, it’s barely enough. We can’t sustain this forever, <em>let alone</em> save enough to survive winter. I don’t like it, either, but some of these people have to go.”</p><p>James sighed, “What would you suggest, Marlene, kicking everyone who can’t be useful out of Sherwood Forest? That’s not who we are.”</p><p>”Of course not. But James, we can’t keep doing this. If we keep trying to take in everyone, <em>everyone will</em> <em>starve</em> come winter. You, me, and the others actually in the Merry Band included. I... I don’t know what we need to do. I just know it’s not this.”</p><p>Logically, Marlene was right. James knew that. They couldn’t keep this up forever, and if Robin Hood and the Merry Band starved this winter, there would be no one else fighting the tyranny of the government. </p><p>Honestly, though, bringing it up wasn’t like her. Marlene was always the one to be supportive, even when she thought James was wrong. She’d wait for him to come to her, then help solve the problem however she could, probably teasing a little while she did it. She was like a little sister to him. </p><p>Dorcas. She knew that James had a soft spot for her girlfriend. She’d probably convinced Marlene to say something about the refugee problem, knowing he’d listen.</p><p>Kind of a dirty trick. Well, dirty or not, the girls were right. James did need to come up with something to fix this.</p><p>”Give me until after the raid tomorrow afternoon,” he said finally, “I’ll come up with something.”</p><p>Marlene nodded, moving over to sit with Dorcas.</p><p>James just hoped whatever he came up with would be good enough to keep everyone in this camp alive.</p><p>...</p><p>Lily was writing down information on the papers she needed to falsify to make criminal charges for a couple of petty thieves go away when there was a knock at her door.</p><p>As always, her first thought was <em>‘they’ve found me out,’ </em>but she quickly pushed those feelings down, shoving the draft papers inside her desk.</p><p>“Come in!”</p><p>Lily had been expecting it to be Severus, coming in to regretfully inform her that as Robin Hood hadn’t been captured yet, she would have to stay at Nottingham Castle a little longer.</p><p>She didn’t expect it to be her sister.</p><p>”Oh, Lily!”</p><p>Petunia ran up to hug her, which was even more surprising.</p><p>”Act like we’re normal siblings,” she hissed in her ear, “We’re being watched.”</p><p>Lily forced herself to hug her sister back, even though she and Petunia hadn’t gotten along since they were kids.</p><p>Once the guards had closed the doors, they pulled apart immediately.</p><p>”So, what is it you need this time?”</p><p>Petunia pouted, “Why do you assume I need something?”</p><p>”Ha. You never come to me willingly unless you do.”</p><p>Petunia sighed, “Fine. I need help with my fiancé.”</p><p>”Of course. What was his name again?” Lily asked, sitting down and motioning to the chair across from her, “Victor?”</p><p>”Vernon,” Petunia corrected stiffly, “Your little boyfriend doesn’t like him. I’ve been applying for a time to get married for <em>months</em>, and every time, something seems to happen with the church.”</p><p>Lily stiffened at the word ‘boyfriend.’ Even Petunia wouldn’t—</p><p>Then again, she probably would. She’d hated Lily since they were little. Since Lily had always been considered the pretty one, the perfect little firstborn. As if Lily had asked people to look at her that way.</p><p>”James is dead,” she said coldly, “How could he possibly interfere with you getting married?”</p><p>Petunia rolled her eyes, “How low do you think of me, Lily? You really think I’d bring that up?”</p><p>That wasn’t what she was talking about?</p><p>Lily’s confusion must have showed on her face, because Petunia rolled her eyes again.</p><p>”Not James. Your new boyfriend. The sheriff.”</p><p>”What?” Lily scoffed, “Severus is not my boyfriend!”</p><p>”Oh?” Petunia looked a bit surprised, “Well, let’s see: first name basis, he comes to visit you nearly every day, he <em>detests</em> me on your behalf... One could be forgiven for being confused.”</p><p>”Does everyone really think that Severus and I..?”</p><p>Petunia shrugged, “Not everyone. But they will soon. I heard that he fancies you. That he wants to propose. Good luck with that.”</p><p>”We’re just friends,” Lily insisted, “And I know everybody hates him, but it’s not really him. He’s got bad friends, is all. He’s doing what he thinks is right; he’s just confused about what that is. I can get him back on track. I know I can.”</p><p>”Well,” Petunia responded, looking doubtful, “Again: good luck with that. If you need a place to run away, please don’t run to my house. Anyway, I was wondering if you could do something about the church situation.”</p><p>”What would I be able to do about that? I’m a lady without a husband. My political power is about zero.”</p><p>Petunia rolled her eyes, “Lily. You always complained that I was too nosy when we were kids. Well, it’s finally started to come in handy. I know you’re that mole in the castle the men always complain about.”</p><p>
  <em>I should have known. She’s too good at this kind of thing to not have known.</em>
</p><p>”Well,” Lily said, trying to seem calm and collected, “What are you going to do with that information?”</p><p>”Nothing, if you help me get married.”</p><p>Lily rolled her eyes. Petunia had been eager to marry since they were little.</p><p>But, while she didn’t understand it, it wasn’t like she could just ignore her sister‘s request with the kind of leverage she had. It wasn’t like Petunia wasn’t petty enough to use it against her. Lily knew she was.</p><p>And... as much as the idea of blackmailing her own sister was unappealing, Lily had to admit that her sister’s talents were a bit too useful to be ignored. If she did this, Petunia would owe her big time. And she wouldn’t be able to expose Lily without saying exactly how she knew for sure, therefore dragging herself and Vernon down, too.</p><p>”Fine,” Lily said finally, “I’ll do it. One one condition.”</p><p>”What?”</p><p>Lily could only smile mysteriously, “You remember what Lady McGonagall used to say, right? About how a lady is never noticed as a threat until it’s too late?”</p><p>She had to restrain a laugh at Petunia’s confused expression.</p><p>...</p><p>James crouched in the bushes next to Sirius, the rest of his Merry Band scattered in the undergrowth along the road. </p><p>Now that it was them and only them, all in one place, James had to realize exactly how right Marlene and Dorcas were. Thirteen teenage revolutionaries with code names and masks couldn’t feed and protect some hundred-plus refugees. </p><p>Besides himself, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, and Dorcas, there was only a few others.</p><p>There was the young Longbottom couple; Frank and Alice, both talented warriors. They’d been forced into an arranged marriage before they were ready, and though they <em>were</em> in love, wanted to reform society so parents could no longer force their kids to do things like that. James was all too happy to let them try.</p><p>There was Kingsley, a dryad. Besides being a good fighter, he was better in healing magic than Dorcas was, making him invaluable, especially when they went on raids. He’d joined because he’d wanted to make sure the Band didn’t do anything stupid, like chopping down an inhabited tree, but stayed because though he’d deny it, he got attached to them.</p><p>There was Hagrid, who was, oddly, really good with animals, despite being half-giant. He’d been James’s friend since they were little, but wasn’t really as close with him as Sirius and the others, mainly because he’d moved nearby only when they were all already teenagers. Still, his strength was outweighed by his compassion. He was a good person to have around.</p><p>Then there was the Prewetts, Molly, Fabian, and Gideon, who Sirius swore up and down had fire spirit blood, but they all claimed they were fully human. Whatever the case, they were all angry and firey and defiant and had come out and <em>found</em> the Merry Band, demanding you join. They were, honestly, the reason Dorcas had placed the cloaking spell, knowing if someone friendly could find them, someone not so friendly could find them.</p><p>“It’s been too long,” Sirius muttered.</p><p>”It’s fine.”</p><p>”We predicted the caravan would come by the first checkpoint twenty minutes ago.”</p><p>”Remus is fine, Sirius,” James said quietly, irritated.</p><p>”Why would you think I’m worried about—“</p><p>”Cause I’m not blind, mate.”</p><p>Sirius was silent for a second, then spoke softly, seeming scared.</p><p>”You don’t care? That we’re two guys?”</p><p>”I never cared about half my band being magical creatures, Dorcas and Marlene being together, or even Gideon’s snoring. Do you honestly think that I give a damn?”</p><p>Sirius shrugged, “Well, that’s good to know I guess.”</p><p>James put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Hey, he’s fine, mate. You forget he can take care of himself pretty good.”</p><p>Sirius nodded, “Yeah. Okay. You’re right. I never win when we spar.”</p><p>”Maybe that’s your own damn fault for sparring with someone you can’t handle.”</p><p>”I can—“</p><p>”If you’re about to say that you can handle him, no you can’t. He’s a werewolf, Sirius. He’s stronger than you’ll ever be.”</p><p>”Hey!”</p><p>”Oh, get over—“</p><p>They cut off as they heard a howl. Someone mimicking a wolf with almost creepy accuracy.</p><p>The caravan was coming.</p><p>”Showtime,” James muttered.</p><p>There was only one carriage, heavily guarded. Four on horseback and two more at the front, driving.</p><p>James almost felt bad for them.</p><p>He nodded to Sirius, who barked loudly like a dog, signaling the others.</p><p>The Merry Band of Marauders sprang from the bushes, taking the guards by surprise.</p><p>James shot one of the guards, vaguely aware of the others doing their part, but most importantly, Kingsley growing vines around the wheels, preventing it from moving even as the horses bolted when Hagrid ripped their harnesses loose.</p><p>“How much do you think is in here?” Alice asked, grabbing the door, “It’s a pretty big carriage. I mean—“</p><p>Alice cried out as more guards jumped out from in the carriage, one of them slashing a sword across her abdomen.</p><p>Frank roared in rage, raising his own sword and engaging the guard in battle.</p><p>Even with the extra guards, it was over in a matter of minutes. </p><p>Unfortunately, this meant that Snape had predicted them attacking the caravans. He was expecting it. That meant that reinforcements were probably on their way. They couldn’t stay long.</p><p>”Leaves, heal Spearhead,” James called, using their codenames, “Padfoot, these idiots don’t think we know about the ‘hide it under the seats’ trick, so let’s start emptying this thing out. We need to be out of here, and quick!”</p><p>Randomly, James got an idea as he shoved treasure from the compartment under the carriage seats into the bag. </p><p>Huh. This could solve their refugee problem.</p><p>...</p><p>“Listen up everybody!”</p><p>The people congregated around James quieted down immediately, respecting the mask.</p><p>All the adult refugees were gathered, a few of the children choosing to come, too. Everyone James needed to talk to.</p><p>”Look,” he said, “We aren’t going to force any of you to leave, but the fact is, we don’t have enough resources to keep everyone here. If we try, we will <em>all</em> starve this winter.</p><p>A few people murmured amongst themselves, worried.</p><p>”Like I said,” James continued, “We’re not forcing anyone to leave! But if you choose to, you’ll be set up with a share of whatever treasure we get from raids, whenever you need. It’ll be in the honor system, admittedly. Just keep in mind that if you say you need help when you don’t, you’re depriving other people of money they might desperately need. And that makes you no better than Sheriff Snape. Be better than that butt-trumpet. Now, no one is required to leave—just strongly encouraged—but I know safe places where you can build homes, so anyone wishing to leave Sherwood Forest, go find a member of the Merry Band tomorrow. We’ll set you up.”</p><p>After the speech, Molly came up to him, looking skeptical.</p><p>”So, where exactly are these safe places?”</p><p>”Safe,” James said cheerfully, “Don’t worry, Lionheart.”</p><p>Dorcas came up next to her, looking as doubtful as Molly.</p><p>”Please tell me you’re not thinking of—“</p><p>“If you’re about to say the Northern Moors, I absolutely am!”</p><p>James grinned as the girls groaned.</p><p>...</p><p>Lily was only a little bitter as she handed her sister the papers she needed to book the church.</p><p>She didn’t expect a thank you, but she was a little surprised by what Petunia gave her.</p><p>All she could do was replay the sentence in her head; the little piece of intel that she’d never even thought to ask after.</p><p>James had been killed by a fire over a year ago. His entire house had burned to the ground. Everyone inside had been killed.</p><p>There’d been no way to identify the bodies. All of them had been given good funerals, knowing any of them could be Lord Potter or one of his family members.</p><p>Lily had been at her house, and she still remembered that horrible second when the knight told her James was dead.</p><p>She didn’t know how Petunia had gotten that critical information, but she had never been wrong before as far as things this important went.</p><p>One sentence changed the course of Lily Evans’ life.</p><p>”James went back for the horses.”</p><p>James wasn’t in the house when it burned down. He’d been outside and went back to the stables for the horses.</p><p>The stables that had been left mostly intact, every horse’s stall door left open.</p><p>The stables were the one place they hadn’t found any bodies.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lily looks into James’s ‘death’ and James encounters old problems and a new/old enemy.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Lily? Lily, are you okay?”</p><p>Lily refocused, “Hmm? What is it, Severus?”</p><p>Severus shrugged, “You don’t seem very interested in the game.”</p><p>They were playing checkers. It wasn’t exactly that interesting, but Severus didn’t need to know that Lily not only knew how to play chess, but was <em>really good </em>at it, and he also didn’t need to know that she could sword fight probably better than he could. After all, James used to be able to beat him, and Lily had been taught by James.</p><p>”I’m just,” Lily shrugged, “Thinking about James.”</p><p>Not a lie. No way he could see through it. Lily just couldn’t tell him exactly why she’d started thinking about it.</p><p>Severus nodded, “I’m sorry. I know you loved him.”</p><p>”You never liked him.”</p><p>”No, I didn’t. But he made you happy, and you don’t smile as much nowadays.”</p><p>Lily shrugged again, “Nowadays, I can’t even go riding in the woods.”</p><p>”You know the woods are full of bandits. Robin Hood—“</p><p>”Do you ever wonder why he does what he does?”</p><p>Severus shook his head, “He’s stealing to get rich. What’s there to understand?”</p><p>”If he’s stealing to get rich, why is he living in the middle of the forest, not running off somewhere he can actually buy things with what he stole?” Lily pressed, “Why are poor people flocking to him? Why does he only attack carriages of you and members of the court; not Romani caravans or traveling peasants?”</p><p>”I...” Severus looked surprised, “I hadn’t thought about it. Good call, Lily. Sometimes I forget how smart you are.”</p><p>Lily cursed internally. Her whole network only worked <em>because</em> everyone forgot how smart she was. Now, things would be just a little bit harder.</p><p>”Why are we even talking about this?” she asked, “I just... Petunia visited me yesterday. She said some things that got me thinking. About how James was a tough man. He wouldn’t have been easy to kill, and I’m not so certain the fire did kill him.”</p><p>”Lily,” Severus said, “I know how hard this has been on you. But I saw the aftermath of that fire myself. No one could have survived it; not even James. He <em>was</em> tough, you’re right, but no one could have made it out of there.”</p><p>”We never knew for sure if we found his body,” Lily argued, “Sev, what if he wasn’t <em>in</em> the house? What if he was out hunting?”</p><p>”He did love to go on impromptu trips, didn’t he?” Severus muttered, “It’s possible, I suppose, but... Lily, if he was alive, wouldn’t he have come for you?”</p><p>That was... a fair point, Lily had to admit.</p><p>Still, if James was alive, she had to have faith he had a good reason.</p><p>”Lily,” Severus said firmly, “James is dead. He has been for a long time. I think it’s time you move on.”</p><p>Lily simply made a move in their game of checkers, leaving herself open to let Severus get a king.</p><p>...</p><p>Most of the refugees had agreed to leave. That was good. More room for the Merry Band of Marauders to operate.</p><p>Still, it did mean that most of the Band had to take a day off and escort said refugees to the safe land they were promised, which was a long way to travel in a short time.</p><p>He was leaving Hagrid and the Prewett siblings behind, and taking everyone else.</p><p>”You sure you four can hold down the fort while we’re away?” James asked for the millionth time.</p><p>Molly rolled her eyes, “We’ll be fine, James. <em>Go</em>.”</p><p>”Yeah,” Gideon agreed, “The refugees leaving need you a hell of a lot more than we do.”</p><p>”Nothing can get to us while Dorcas’s protection spell stands,” Fabian added.</p><p>James could find no argument with that, and figured the four were a formidable team, anyway. He didn’t even know why he was worrying.</p><p>There was just... an odd feeling in the air. Like the day James had come home and found his house on fire.</p><p>He’d come home from a day not-really-hunting in the woods, (Even then, James had been laying the groundwork for Sherwood Forest.) and found his house already ablaze, everybody shouting, trying to save whoever was still inside. Foolishly, Dorcas was using her magic in public, calling water from the river to try to help, which was only making some of the men try to throw <em>her</em> into the fire. She probably would have been able to save the house, and maybe even everyone inside, but with fighting the fire <em>and</em> the men, she’d only been able to save herself.</p><p>As much as it hurt, James had known that everyone inside was probably already dead. And if not, if he went inside, he would join them.</p><p>So, he went and got the horses out. He found Sirius in the stables, trying to do the same thing. Peter was already in the woods, scouting an escape route and Remus was salvaging saddles. The four of them could do what they’d been planning for months; fake their deaths and disappear. Become ghosts in the forest, causing change.</p><p>That was exactly what they’d done. They’d grabbed Dorcas and run, coming back for Marlene and the others later, but to be honest, James hadn’t expected it to be so easy. <em>Somebody</em> had to have seen them ride off.</p><p>But, evidently, nobody had known it was them. No one had come looking for anyone other than Robin Hood.</p><p>Originally, though, they hadn’t gone to Sherwood Forest. While they’d been building Sherwood, they’d hidden somewhere else, far enough away that no one would look, pairs or small groups of them coming down south for a few days at a time to build more whenever they judged the paths would be safest. They’d never been found when <em>not</em> on the move because, honestly, no one would be insane enough to look there.</p><p>The Northern Moors had a reputation for being haunted. </p><p>In reality, they were home to fae, witches and a few dozen other magical species. Creatures that were only dangerous if you didn’t know the logic to work with or around them.</p><p>Fortunately, Dorcas, having grown up in the moors, knew all the rules. Here was hoping the refugees were good listeners.</p><p>”Robin? Robin Hood? Mr. Hood, sir?”</p><p>“Yes, Arthur?” James turned to the slightly-excitable refugee, who, honestly, he wouldn’t have minded keeping around.</p><p>Arthur Weasley was honestly one of the funnest people he knew, and he was also an inventor, even if not many of his inventions worked. Also, even if he didn’t know it, Molly fancied him. That alone made James sad he was going north with his family.</p><p>”I was wondering,” Arthur said, “I mean, I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard a rumor you were taking us to the Northern Moors.”</p><p>”I am.”</p><p>”But aren’t the Northern Moors haunted?”</p><p>James shrugged, “Only if you’re scared of magical creatures. Don’t worry, though. Most of the species that live up there will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. Just... if you go to the beach and you see a horse, <em>don’t</em> go near it. It’s not actually a horse. And... well, other than that, really, the only species that won’t actively avoid you is the fae, and as long as you don’t eat their food or believe the lies they tell you, you’ll be fine. Any other rules, I’ll explain to everyone once we get there.”</p><p>”Fae?” Arthur looked confused, “Aren’t those the cute little buggers that change the seasons?”</p><p>”No, those are fairies. Fae are the ones that steal babies and things like that. There’s a difference.”</p><p>”Oh,” Arthur said. Now, he looked a little scared.</p><p>”Hey, don’t worry,” James assured him, “The Northern Moors is also home to a quite a few circles of witches and warlocks. One of which, Spell-caster comes from. We’re going to ask them to help put up protective wards to keep the unfriendly magical species out.”</p><p>”And does that work?” Arthur asked.</p><p>James didn’t want to lie to him. He had never heard of any protective spell strong enough to keep fae out. </p><p>But he also didn’t want to scare him. He liked Arthur.</p><p>”Yes, mostly. Still, just to be safe, listen when I give the safety talk. The Northern Moors are fine as long as you know how to deal with them. And Sheriff Snape’s men will never look for you there.”</p><p>”I suppose that is a comfort.”</p><p>James smiled to himself. This was just one more instance when his policies of inclusion came in handy more than the good sheriff’s policies of only human men.</p><p>...</p><p>Lily had to admit, she didn’t know what she was doing. Her only account of James <em>maybe</em> being alive was from her sister, who didn’t even like Lily.</p><p>Still, here she was, contacting everyone she knew who might have information.</p><p>And that meant the only member of the Black family who was trustworthy.</p><p>Well, to be honest, Lily didn’t know if Andromeda could still be counted as a member of the Black family. She had been disowned years ago, when she married a peasant, and her parents now basically pretended they had always had two daughters instead of three. It made Lily sick, even with how Andromeda was probably better off without them.</p><p>The only reason she was asking her at all was because if there was <em>anyone</em> from their old lives James and his friends might have told, if they had faked their deaths, it would be... well, to be honest, Lily had thought it would be her.</p><p>She’d mourned James more than any of them, sure, but she’d missed Remus and Sirius and Dorcas and Peter, too. They’d been her friends. Lily had loved them.</p><p>To make matters worse, a few weeks later, Marlene had gone on a ride in the woods and never come back. Frank and Alice had never returned from a trip to the countryside. Severus had blamed bandits. Robin Hood, specifically.</p><p>Now, it begged the question. If James <em>was</em> alive, were all of them? And if they hadn’t told her, who <em>had</em> they told? Maybe it was grasping at straws at this point, but Sirius had been close with Andromeda growing up. Of the five Blacks in that generation, he had only even been on speaking terms with her and his brother, Regulus, who was out of the question since he’d joined Severus’s forces and would definitely have told someone if his big brother was alive.</p><p>That meant Andromeda was the only one who might know. And that meant Lily had to talk to her.</p><p>”So, this was unexpected.”</p><p>Andromeda seemed a bit uncomfortable to be back in a castle. With the rumors of how her childhood had been, Lily didn’t blame her.</p><p>”I wanted to talk,” Lily said, “About Sirius. I’ve heard... rumors, about him.”</p><p>“Lady Evans, Sirius wasn’t often allowed to talk to me in the last several years,” she sighed, “That doesn’t mean I miss him any less.”</p><p>Lily felt a flicker of doubt. Andromeda’s sadness looked genuine.</p><p>No. All of the Blacks were master manipulators. Even Sirius was, by necessity. Just because she didn’t look like she knew something didn’t mean she didn’t.</p><p>”Please, call me Lily,” Lily said, “Andromeda... I think Sirius might be alive.”</p><p>”<em>What</em>?”</p><p>That surprise looked real. But was it because she didn’t know, or she didn’t expect Lily to know.</p><p>”I think he and James and the others might have faked their deaths.”</p><p>”And why would they do that?”</p><p>”I don’t know,” Lily admitted, “But some things about how they died don’t add up—especially considering how Marlene and the Longbottoms disappeared not long after.”</p><p>”I heard they were taken by bandits.”</p><p>”That’s what I was told, too. But if it was bandits, why would they attack Marlene, someone who was riding in simple clothes, who would have been carrying no valuables? Why didn’t Frank and Alice take more guards on such a bandit-prone road?”</p><p>“Good points,” Andromeda admitted, “I don’t usually think about the motivations of criminals, but good points.”</p><p>”If we don’t think about the motivations of criminals,” Lily said firmly, “We risk becoming criminals in the eyes of everyone but ourselves.”</p><p>Andromeda nodded, “I suppose you’re right. However...” she sighed, “Lily, I don’t know what to tell you. If Sirius—and James and the others—<em>are</em> alive, they didn’t tell me.”</p><p>The problem with the Black family was that they were all very good liars. Lily couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth.</p><p>But, even if she was, this was going to be a good opportunity to get herself out. Andromeda was trustworthy, Lily hoped.</p><p>”It’s a shame,” she mumbled, “I was hoping James was still alive, because... well, then, maybe he could get me out.”</p><p>Andromeda’s nodded sympathetically, “I remember how stifling these castles can be. I wish I could help.”</p><p>”It’s not how stifling the castle is,” Lily said, “It’s... well, Severus says Lord Malfoy is getting paranoid. The Robin Hood attacks have lost him a great deal of treasure. He’s starting to see anyone who doesn’t openly hate Robin Hood as a threat.”</p><p>”And you’re trying to understand why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Andromeda muttered, “Lily...”</p><p>Lily forced what she hoped was an uncertain smile, “I’ll be fine, Andromeda. Your brother-in-law would be even more of a fool than half the land thinks he is if he killed me.”</p><p>“I suppose he would be... But just in case, if you ever need to hide somewhere...”</p><p>”I wouldn’t do that to you and Ted,” Lily said truthfully, “But thank you.”</p><p>Now, all she could do was wait, and see if Andromeda really didn’t know anything.</p><p>...</p><p>“Ah, yes,” Sirius said, “The Northern Moors. I really missed the wet, boggy, magical danger zone from the early days.”</p><p>Sirius wasn’t totally wrong with that explanation of the Northern Moors. It was wet and boggy, and it could be dangerous.</p><p>”You mean you’ve been here before?” a little refugee girl asked.</p><p>”Yes, we have,” Sirius responded, “And we left a secret in the Northern Moors, but I’m not sure if you can handle it.”</p><p>”I can handle it!” The girl exclaimed indignantly.</p><p>Sirius put his hands up, “Well, excuse me. I didn’t know I was dealing with a future warrior, here. Our secret is that there used to be another member of our Band. But he died in battle, and we buried him here. If you listen closely, you can hear his ghost singing and playing a violin.”</p><p>”Like Robin Hood?” the girl asked, her eyes huge.</p><p>Sirius nodded, “Just like Robin Hood. He was Robin Hood’s twin, in fact. Let’s listen together; see if we can hear him.”</p><p>James smirked, knowing exactly what his best friend was about to do.</p><p>When the little girl was listening as carefully as she possibly could, Sirius jumped closer to her, picking her up and swinging her around with a shout. </p><p>The little girl screamed, but her cries soon dissolved into laughter as Sirius swung her around in a circle.</p><p>James noted Remus’s smile as he came up and took the girl from Sirius, kneeling down to her level as he put her down.</p><p>”There’s no ghosts here. Don’t worry. Just some magic and Padfoot, here, trying to mess with you.”</p><p>”Aw, Moony,” Sirius complained, “Always ruining my fun.”</p><p>Remus rolled his eyes, “Well, if you consider frightening small children fun.”</p><p>The way they looked at each other honestly should be illegal, especially when James didn’t have a certain someone with him who he could look at like that.</p><p>”Alright!” James shouted, “So, who among you kids wants to help Spell-caster set up some protective wards?”</p><p>Immediately, all the small children volunteered, their parents looking significantly less enthusiastic, and, James was amused to see, Arthur volunteered as well.</p><p>”Don’t worry!” James called quickly, “These spells are perfectly safe! And Spell-caster will be doing all the heavy lifting as far as power goes, at least until Meadowlark goes and sees if any of the local witch circles are willing to help..?”</p><p>”Right!” Marlene ran off in the direction of the village of Dorcas’s family.</p><p>”Now, adults!” James shouted, moving off to the side, “Listen up, unless you want to die making rookie mistakes here!”</p><p>Immediately, all the older refugees started listening intently.</p><p>”The Northern Moors are known for being haunted. In reality, you won’t find ghosts here, but you will find fae, werewolves, witches, and just about every other kind of magical creature. Now, most of them come here because it’s the type of place no human wants to live; they just want to be left alone. Unfortunately, if you want to survive, that won’t be possible. You <em>will</em> probably need to interact with them at some point; whether it’s to get rid of a boggart or to ask some witches for medicine. And it is important for you to remember that these creatures aren’t going to hurt you for no reason. However, if you don’t understand the basics of their customs, you may antagonize them without meaning to. So listen up, if you plan on having any interaction with any sort of magical creatures during your time here—which you should!”</p><p>James went over all the rules of the Moors. How to avoid werewolf hunting grounds and make sure there was enough game for everyone. How to tell which witch circles were friendly and make fair deals for things like medicine. How to protect children from various fae courts and avoid getting sucked into contracts with them. How to read the warnings sirens sent on storms when they didn’t want to lure in anyone friendly enough to magical creatures to know them, if any of the humans wanted to go to the beaches to fish or for fun.</p><p>And those were just the intelligent species; the ones that would mostly deal with adults. All the kids were disappointed to leave Dorcas when James called them over, but he needed to make sure <em>everyone</em> knew not to trust a horse on the beach that would actually be a nokk, and not to panic if faced with a boggart. The kids needed to know how to recognize the home of a baby kraken in the marsh and how to properly respect a hippogryph. He didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to go near a griffin nest intentionally, but he went over that, too.</p><p>In the end, everyone seemed to get it, and James could only hope they’d all take the warnings seriously. He’d be the first to admit that magical creatures could be dangerous when provoked. He personally had just taken the time to learn how not to provoke them.</p><p>Well, it might be too much to hope that the adults would ever get over their prejudice against magic, but the kids seemed excited enough to meet Dorcas’s cousins, who used their magic to put on a little light show before helping Dorcas put up the rest of the wards.</p><p>Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus took a group to the beach to go see if any of the local sirens would be willing to show exactly what the warning signs looked like, (since sirens weren’t known for being actively friendly towards humans, more likely, they just wanted to go to the beach together), Kingsley taught some kids words in nymph-tongue, Marlene offered the witches and warlocks moral support, and Frank and Alice... well, James was pretty sure they were picking a fight with a baby kraken, but as long as they weren’t getting hurt or <em>actually</em> hurting the kraken (which they weren’t, judging by how they were using only staffs, which wouldn’t stand a chance to penetrate kraken hide), he figured they’d probably be fine.</p><p>Him and Peter just sat on one of the less wet patches of grass, talking about how annoying it was that Sirius and Remus kept going off together, how Kingsley needed to drop the ‘indifferent tree dude’ act, how Frank and Alice seemed to be losing to the baby kraken...</p><p>But, ultimately, James ended up asking about what he always did when talking to Peter.</p><p>”How did she seem? When you last saw Lily?”</p><p>Peter was silent for a second, then, “I don’t know. I only caught a glimpse of her through a window. She looked... sad, I guess? What do you expect, James? She lost you <em>and</em> the majority of her friends. She’s really got no one in there except Sheriff Butt-Trumpet.”</p><p>James snorted, “Well, at least she’ll be entertained, watching his trumpeting ass play like he can defeat me.”</p><p>”Yeah...” Peter shrugged, “James, Lily’s... different. The servants all talk about ‘poor Lady Evans.’ None of them talk about how smart she is, not even how the people who didn’t like her being smart used to talk about her. None of them talk about her being headstrong or rebellious or even sarcastic.”</p><p>”That doesn’t sound like Lily.”</p><p>”I know. Do you think... do you think she just... <em>gave up</em>, after losing all of us?”</p><p>James thought about it. Lily was the strongest person he knew. She’d been raised into a life where she was expected to be a pretty wife and then a pretty mother and somehow had still become a woman who wanted to learn to fight and took to politics better than James ever had. </p><p>The Lily he knew, the Lily not even Peter and Remus and Sirius had known, wouldn’t give up her ideals for anything. Not even losing people she loved. They knew she was strong, but they didn’t know she was unbreakable</p><p>”I don’t think she did,” James responded finally, “I know she didn’t. Lily’s got to have an angle somewhere in there. If she can’t fight with her sword, she’s fighting with her words; I guarantee it.”</p><p>Peter didn’t look totally convinced, but he nodded, “Okay. You did know her best, I suppose.”</p><p>Inside, James was hoping that someday, when they got her back, he’d find the Lily that he did know.</p><p>But how could losing, or <em>thinking</em> you lost your love and all of your closest friends not change a person?</p><p>...</p><p>By the time Dorcas and her cousins were done putting up the wards, it was already dark, and if there was <em>one rule</em> you followed in the Northern Moors, it was that you <em>didn’t</em> want to be out of camp after dark.</p><p>Well, Dorcas, or Remus, or even Kingsley would probably be fine if they went out. Magical creatures didn’t usually mess with other magical creatures, as Dorcas’s cousins said when they went home.</p><p>The humans, however, had to be careful.</p><p>James remembered the first night they’d spent in the Moors, all those months ago.</p><p>Though none of them would admit it, he was sure all of them had been scared. The wards Dorcas had put up were the work of one already stressed witch who hadn’t had much practice yet in them. Remus’s scent had kept the werewolf packs away, but fae had flitted around their campsite, waiting for any opportunity to play tricks. </p><p>Dorcas had admitted that while she was perfectly comfortable in the Moors by herself, she wasn’t particularly confident in her ability to protect others. James had to give a speech about how even if she didn’t trust herself, they trusted her.</p><p>The five of them hadn’t slept, and they’d still been lucky to make it through the night. By the next morning, Dorcas had had time to recharge her magic and was able to put up proper wards, but James would still never forget the feeling of being completely exposed, with things he couldn’t see watching him from every side.</p><p>Luckily, this time, Dorcas had been working with her full strength, <em>and</em> she’d had help. The barriers felt safer, more sturdy. The fae didn’t get so close, not liking to show themselves around such a large group. And though griffins always lurked around shiny things like the pots cooking things over the fire, the spells kept them from seeing or hearing in, so there was little to no risk of a raid. </p><p>So why was James still so apprehensive? Looking around, there was nothing—</p><p>Remus was standing right next to the magic lanterns that marked where the barriers were, staring out at the darkness like something was there.</p><p>James looked over and locked eyes with Sirius, then Peter. They’d noticed him, too.</p><p>They all walked up behind him. Though with his wolf hearing and smell, he must have noticed them, Remus didn’t turn around.</p><p>”What is it?” James asked, “Moony, what do you see?”</p><p>Remus didn’t answer. His nose wrinkled as he smelled something and his eyes widened.</p><p>Out of the darkness, a man walked.</p><p>Only...</p><p>Not a man. A werewolf. A <em>lone</em> werewolf.</p><p>He wore furs that made it clear what he was, besides his general confidence in the darkness, of someone who could navigate perfectly.</p><p>The werewolf sniffed around the barrier, putting a hand up to it, seeming a little curious, but mostly hostile. He growled deep in his throat, paused, then growled again.</p><p>Wait, no.</p><p>James felt a chill as he realized that the second growl had come from his friend, and it was no less threatening; just directed towards the werewolf sniffing around the border.</p><p>Then the werewolf left, stalking off into the darkness from where he came, and James, Sirius, and Peter breathed a collective sigh of relief.</p><p>”Man, that was <em>intense</em>,” Sirius said, and Peter nodded in agreement.</p><p>”I know he couldn’t have, but it was almost like he knew we were there,” James agreed.</p><p>”Because he did,” Remus said.</p><p>The werewolf hadn’t moved, still scanning the darkness, still tenser than James had ever seen him.</p><p>Sirius put his hand on Remus’s shoulder, “Hey, talk to us, Moony. We can’t help if we don’t know what it is.”</p><p>Slowly, Remus took a deep breath and turned to James, putting an arm around Sirius to ground himself.</p><p>”The wards Dorcas and her family put up were built to obscure sights and sounds. But they forgot that even in our human forms, werewolves’ strongest sense is smell. This place is crawling with human scent. But that wolf might have left it alone; figured the humans must have come but left, maybe buried treasure here and paid a witch to protect it or something, and that’s why there’s wards up, especially since all the humans are closer to the middle of the safe area. But...” </p><p>Remus sighed, a guilty look on his face, “He smelled <em>me</em>. He couldn’t hear me growl, but he definitely smelled that there was another werewolf nearby. He’ll be back to check it out again, probably with a pack next time.”</p><p>”That’s not your fault, Moony,” Sirius said quietly, “You can’t control how you smell.”</p><p>Remus groaned, “No, it kind of is my fault. I saw him sniffing around and I got territorial, making my scent even stronger. But Padfoot, <em>you</em> <em>don’t get it</em>.”</p><p>James had... never seen Remus look so shaken. He didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it before, how the tension hadn’t been just about another werewolf nearby.  It was about something much more than that, James was sure of it.</p><p>”Padfoot, it’s... that was <em>him</em>.”</p><p>Sirius’s face went shocked, “That was... that was <em>him</em>, him? As in..?”</p><p>Remus could only nod.</p><p>”Who’s him?” Peter asked, and James agreed.</p><p>Remus opened his mouth, then closed it again. He shook his head, his expression haunted.</p><p>”Can I tell them?” Sirius asked gently.</p><p>A beat with no response, and then Remus nodded once before walking away.</p><p>“Who was that, Padfoot?” James asked.</p><p>Sirius took a heavy breath, “That was... his name is Fenrir Grayback.”</p><p>James waited for more explanation than just a name that meant nothing to him.</p><p>”He’s the one who turned Remus into a werewolf.”</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James starts planning to get Lily out. Lily starts noticing a sinister plot around the castle.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Remus didn’t talk the whole way back to Sherwood Forest the next morning. None of the Merry Band tried to make him.</p>
<p>Still, even if he knew not to push his friend, James was worried about him. He’d never seen Remus act like this. He was often quiet, but that quietness was never uncomfortable, like pieces of him were just floating away in the silence.</p>
<p>Being a werewolf wasn’t something that was to taken lightly. It could be a blessing, with the abilities that came with it, but mostly, it was a curse. The pain Remus went through every month was not worth having a better sense of smell.</p>
<p>And the man they’d seen in the Northern Moors was responsible for that. James wished he’d shot him, then and there, for all the pain he’d caused his friend.</p>
<p>Well, it was seeming like everybody was full of good news today.</p>
<p>When they got back to Sherwood, Molly was waiting for them by the entrance, looking grim enough that whatever bad news she had.</p>
<p>”Would it kill you to have good news for once?” James asked.</p>
<p>”What?”</p>
<p>”Sorry. Just that everyone’s full of bad news lately. What’s up?”</p>
<p>Everyone else was sticking around to hear what was going on, but Remus just headed to his treehouse silently. After only briefly hesitating, Sirius followed.</p>
<p>”What’s with him?” Molly asked.</p>
<p>”I’ll tell you later,” James decided, “Cause I only feel like explaining this once, so I’ll wait until your brothers are here. Anyway, what’s your news?”</p>
<p>“You know how Sirius gave Andromeda one of those emergency communication fountains Dorcas made?”</p>
<p>”Yeah?”</p>
<p>”She called a couple hours ago. Apparently Lily called her in to talk about... about you.”</p>
<p>No one seemed to know what to say about that.</p>
<p>Lily was asking about James?</p>
<p>That hurt more than it should. The only reason James had been able to work as well as he had as Robin Hood was because he thought Lily had made peace with his death. If she was okay, he could be okay.</p>
<p>She was still grieving him. She was talking about him and Sirius and the others with Andromeda.</p>
<p>That hurt.</p>
<p>“What was she talking about specifically?” James asked awkwardly, “Just... me in general?”</p>
<p>Molly rolled her eyes, “God, Robin, pull yourself together.”</p>
<p>She seemed nervous. She was stalling telling him something. And anything that scared Molly Prewett, no one should take lightly.</p>
<p>”Molly, spill the beans. What is it?”</p>
<p>She sighed, “James... she was talking to Andromeda a bit how she thinks you might be alive. You, Sirius, Remus, Peter... the whole Band. The ones she knew, anyway.”</p>
<p>James nearly dropped his bow off the platform from shock, “What?!”</p>
<p>Peter started laughing awkwardly, “Well, we should have known we could only fool Lily Evans for so long.”</p>
<p>”She <em>is</em> the smartest person we know,” Marlene agreed.</p>
<p>James was still processing this. He really shouldn’t have underestimated Lily. That was a mistake everyone else always seemed to make.</p>
<p>But damn if he hadn’t hoped he was the only person who could pull the wool over her eyes.</p>
<p>Because if she figured out he was Robin Hood... that would be bad. That would be very bad.</p>
<p>This was why they weren’t planning on telling her until <em>after</em> they got her out.</p>
<p>“She doesn’t know who we are,” Molly assured them, “She doesn’t know you’re Robin, James, but it’s only a matter of time before she connects the dots. Anyway... this isn’t even the worst part.”</p>
<p>”Oh, what could be worse?” Alice groaned.</p>
<p>”Andromeda said... Andromeda said Lily is in trouble. She thinks Lord Malfoy suspects her of being sympathetic towards bandits and thieves.”</p>
<p>Well, they all knew what that could mean.</p>
<p>Marlene grabbed Dorcas’s hand nervously, looking to James.</p>
<p>”James, what do we do?”</p>
<p>James took a deep breath. This complicated things. Still, it wasn’t like they had a choice here. Lily was their friend. She was <em>his</em>... whatever. If Lord Malfoy suspected her of being sympathetic towards outlaws, he would kill her. There was no question what they were going to do.</p>
<p>James pasted a confident smirk on his face.</p>
<p>”Well, it doesn’t exactly fit with our old timeline, but what do you think we’re doing? We’re going to get our girl.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily had been totally bluffing about her being in danger, but this... well, if she was reading this situation correctly, well... she could <em>actually</em> be in danger.</p>
<p>She’d stumbled on this on accident, just looking out the window one day. </p>
<p>She’d seen one of Sirius’s cousins, Andromeda’s sister, Bellatrix, coming in with one of the military caravans Sirius was bringing in.</p>
<p>Normally, this wouldn’t be that alarming. The Blacks were a high-ranking family. Bellatrix had married into the Lestranges, another high-ranking family. Lords and ladies like this came to the castle to visit all the time.</p>
<p>But it <em>was</em> alarming because...</p>
<p>The Black family had turned out five children this generation.</p>
<p>Of those five, only two were considered to still be alive.</p>
<p>Besides Andromeda, who had been disowned, and Sirius, who was presumed dead, Bellatrix had been disowned some years ago, on the count that she was absolutely insane.</p>
<p>The Black family only acknowledged that Regulus, Sirius’s brother, and Narcissa, his last cousin, were a part of their family, and therefore entitled to anything from them. Bellatrix had been cut off. She didn’t have status or anything anymore. Certainly nothing that would allow her to waltz right into the castle.</p>
<p>Lily asked Lord Slughorn, one of Severus’s old teachers, who happened to be a part of Lily’s information network.</p>
<p>He’d gotten nervous enough that something was <em>definitely</em> up, though he wouldn’t tell her what it was.</p>
<p>Through asking every informant she had and generally spying, Lily managed to gather that Severus was gathering an army. Lord Malfoy had told him to, but to do it quietly. They were gathering forces for... something.</p>
<p>And the forces they were gathering...</p>
<p>Several maids had gone missing on nights in last week, and the ones still around swore the dungeon smelled of blood, though they weren’t allowed to go into certain parts of it.</p>
<p>That meant vampires. That or something equally horrible.</p>
<p>And Lily didn’t need her spies to know that she was hearing howls of wolves in the hills, a place so close to civilization that no wild wolf dared venture.</p>
<p>That meant werewolves, and Lily’s own experience with them aside, Remus had taught her to recognize a passive howl vs. an aggressive one. And these werewolves were <em>always</em> howling aggressively.</p>
<p>That wasn’t even all of them. There were crates in the stables that hissed at the stable boys, and one spy insisted they saw a giant camped out in the woods to the north.</p>
<p>To be honest, Lily’s first thought had been, <em>‘well, shit.’</em></p>
<p>Lord Malfoy was, by definition, a prick, but he was too cowardly to try to run with dark creatures. Everyone knew what could happen if you tried and failed to control them. There was no way Lucius Malfoy would risk it.</p>
<p>That meant that he was gathering those forces for somebody else, and anyone stupid or brave enough to mess with dark creatures was someone who should be feared, whether they were just cocky and crazy or could actually back it up.</p>
<p>Well, she didn’t know who it was.</p>
<p>But she knew she was going to find out.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>They couldn’t storm the castle.</p>
<p>With the new reports Peter had brought in, James was more sure of that than ever. He’d been posturing whenever he said he was going to, before.</p>
<p>Now, he was desperate enough to <em>maybe</em> try it, and it was more fortified enough that they <em>couldn’t</em>. </p>
<p>If they tried to storm the castle, they would die. That much was certain.</p>
<p>As much as James loved Lily, he wouldn’t risk all his friends like that. Anyway, it wasn’t like they would do her much good if they died, anyway.</p>
<p>He had... no plans, here.</p>
<p>”Hey, James—“</p>
<p>”Whatever it is, Dorcas, I don’t want to hear it,” James interrupted.</p>
<p>Maybe being angry wasn’t fair, but at the moment, he didn’t really care.</p>
<p>“Sheriff Snivillus is amassing more and more forces, and sooner or later, he’s going to storm the forest to come after us. If either we survive that or we run beforehand, the dryads will blame us for their home getting burned down, and they’ll tell their grassy cousins in the Northern Moors that, so we’ll have nowhere to go. Not that we can take the fight to him, because if we do, storming a castle that fortified will definitely get us killed.”</p>
<p>James sighed, “What I’m trying to say is that... I’ve got nothing. We’re done. Even if we don’t try to save Lily, we’re still all going to die. We’re done. All of this is done.”</p>
<p>Dorcas just stood there for a second in silence.</p>
<p>“Well, if you had let me speak, you would know that we are <em>not</em> done. I found a spell that would help a few of us sneak right into the castle unnoticed.”</p>
<p>“Wait, what?”</p>
<p>Dorcas sighed, “I found a specific spell that... let’s just say the process is complicated, and I only have enough of the ingredients to do three of us, but... it’ll work. If we try it.”</p>
<p>”Great!” James exclaimed, jumping to his feet, “Dorcas, you are brilliant!”</p>
<p>”Thanks for noticing.”</p>
<p>”What does this spell do?”</p>
<p>Dorcas grimaced, and James started to think that he might not enjoy her plan that much after all. It must be difficult.</p>
<p>Either that, or she was fearing that he would enjoy the plan a little too much. Dorcas never did love too much enthusiasm.</p>
<p>”It’s an ancient ritual. It’ll take some time to prepare... but it’ll allow the three of us we do the spell on to transform into an animal at will.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily knew that learning how to navigate the servants tunnels in the walls of the castle would pay off one day.</p>
<p>Of course, she was going to have to pay off the few maids that weren’t in her spy network to keep them from saying anything about seeing her in there, but that was a problem for another day.</p>
<p>It looked like she was just in time to do some spying of her own as Severus and Lord Malfoy slammed open the doors to the room she was watching, arguing loudly.</p>
<p>”Lucius, we don’t have enough people! We need to wait just a few weeks long—“</p>
<p>”We don’t <em>have</em> a few weeks!“ Malfoy snapped, “The Dark Lord expects results, and he wants the bandit Robin Hood and his friends gone.”</p>
<p>
  <em>The Dark Lord?</em>
</p>
<p>”You think I don’t know that?” Severus shot back, “I know what he’ll do if we fail, but I just don’t think that sending hundreds of men to their deaths is the answer! Hood has powerful allies!“</p>
<p>”Yes, he does. If I remember correctly, he’s got werewolves, tree spirits, and witches on his side. That’s why we recruited some magical creatures of our own for this, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>”Robin Hood needs to go down,” Severus admitted, “I simply don’t see the need to get your subjects killed needlessly.”</p>
<p>”If you won’t lead the army,” Malfoy warned, “I’ll find someone who will.”</p>
<p>Lily heard Severus sigh, “Fine. Give me <em>one</em> week to let the rest of the forces get here. Well, most of them, anyway.”</p>
<p>”You have <em>three days</em>. You know what the Dark Lord will do to <em>her</em> if you fail.”</p>
<p>Judging by the sound of Severus’s voice, he didn’t flinch.</p>
<p>”Yes, I know very well what Lord Voldemort will do to Li—Lady Evans.”</p>
<p>Lily stifled a gasp as Severus kept talking.</p>
<p>”The same thing he’ll do to your Narcissa, if you send hundreds of men to their deaths and don’t produce results, which is exactly what will happen if you send half the force needed.”</p>
<p>Malfoy’s voice hardened even more as he conceded, “One week. Make it work, Severus.”</p>
<p>Lily had no idea what to think.</p>
<p>There was no Lord Voldemort anywhere in the land that she knew of.</p>
<p>But apparently there was one.</p>
<p>And Severus was scared he would kill her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Marauders gear up for their craziest plan yet and Lily starts looking into Robin Hood.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I changed the process for becoming an animagus cause I didn’t feel like looking up all the steps. Sue me—I’m lazy sometimes.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lily was right. She’d looked everywhere, searched every census, record book, and correspondence, and there was no ‘Lord Voldemort.’</p>
<p>She’d even looked at history books, figuring this ‘Lord Voldemort’ could be a vampire or some other magical creature. There was still nothing.</p>
<p>People didn’t just disappear. They didn’t come from nowhere, either. This was definitely strange.</p>
<p>Well, the fact that Severus was afraid of whoever this was meant that Lily should be nervous, too.</p>
<p>Whoever he was, ‘Lord Voldemort’ wanted Robin Hood out of the way.</p>
<p>Maybe it was time Lily finally contacted a certain famous bandit.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>“So,” Dorcas said, explaining, “I only have enough power to do this ritual on three of you, and it has some very specific rules, anyway, so listen up.”</p>
<p>”Why don’t you ask your circle to help?” Sirius asked, “Then you could do it on more than three.”</p>
<p>“Because this ritual technically might kind of be sort of illegal among my circle, so if I admitted that I used it, they’d have to exile me. And the cousin who stole it for me.”</p>
<p>“Illegal?” Marlene asked with a smirk, “Fun.”</p>
<p>Dorcas rolled her eyes, smiling, “It’ll only be fun if it works. Anyway, can you all be quiet long enough to hear the rules?”</p>
<p>Everyone stayed quiet for the few seconds when she paused.</p>
<p>”Right. So, first of all, this spell can only be performed on humans, so that automatically takes most of us out of the running.”</p>
<p>”That just leaves Marlene, James, Sirius, Peter, Alice, and Frank,” Kingsley agreed.</p>
<p>”And us,” Molly argued.</p>
<p>Dorcas sighed, “Molly, no offense, but I’m about 90% sure you and your brothers have at least <em>some</em> fire sprite blood, so I don’t want to run the risk of performing it on you, only for it not to work.”</p>
<p>“Fine. Continue.”</p>
<p>”Second, it takes a long time to prepare for. A month, to be precise.”</p>
<p>”A month?” James exclaimed, “We might not have a month!”</p>
<p>”It takes a month, James! I can’t change it! Now shut up!”</p>
<p>James shut up.</p>
<p>”Third, the preparations are somewhat strange. Just a warning. Parts of it will be dangerous. Keep that in mind.”</p>
<p>”You should do it, James,” Marlene said quietly, “It is Lily, after all.”</p>
<p>”Yeah,” James agreed, “I agree. Turning into an animal, here I come.”</p>
<p>Dorcas rolled her eyes, “Two more spots, people. Choose wisely.”</p>
<p>For a second, nobody else spoke up.</p>
<p>Then Sirius smirked, “You know I’m in.”</p>
<p>”Great,” Dorcas said, “One more. Who’s in?”</p>
<p>It seemed strange that Frank and Alice weren’t speaking up.</p>
<p>Both of them were usually so brave. Why were they hesitating now?</p>
<p>“Would have thought you’d be firsts in line,” James said, “What’s up. Frank? Allie?”</p>
<p>They exchanged a glance that told everyone they were most <em>definitely</em> hiding something.</p>
<p>”Yes,” Remus said quietly, “What <em>is</em> up? I didn’t want to say anything, but, Alice, you’ve been smelling different for a while. Almost like— oh. Oh, shit.”</p>
<p>”What?” Sirius asked, confused.</p>
<p>”You guessed it,” Alice said, looking like she was confirming something, “Should have figured you would, Remus.”</p>
<p>”What is it?” James asked, “Marauders?”</p>
<p>Frank gestured for Alice to say it, and she sighed, seeming a little embarrassed.</p>
<p>”I’m pregnant.”</p>
<p>”<em>What?</em>” James asked.</p>
<p>”Allie, that’s great!” Marlene exclaimed.</p>
<p>”Congratulations,” Kingsley said.</p>
<p>”It’s not that great,” Alice muttered, “I can’t do the spell.”</p>
<p>”And Frank can’t do it because your child needs both parents,” James realized, “It’s fine. I guess it’s down to Marlene and Peter.”</p>
<p>Marlene put her hands up, “No. I don’t want to turn into an animal. It’s Peter.”</p>
<p>”I’m fine with that,” Peter said, grinning.</p>
<p>”Great,” James said, “So, when do we start?”</p>
<p>”Tonight,” Dorcas responded, “And I’m warning you boys, it’s not going to be fun.”</p>
<p>”Well, what fun would it be if it was?” Sirius asked.</p>
<p>Remus rolled his eyes, “That makes no sense, love.”</p>
<p>“I’m just saying, we all tend to be at our best when things get dangerous.”</p>
<p>James matched his friend’s grin, “I’m going to have to agree.”</p>
<p>”Just be careful,” Hagrid advised, “I don’t... I don’t want to bury anyone.”</p>
<p>Everyone got more sober pretty quickly.</p>
<p>Dorcas waved him off, “Don’t worry yet. Tonight’s not dangerous. The dangerous part doesn’t start until tomorrow. Tonight won’t be fun, but it’s not dangerous.”</p>
<p>”If it’s not dangerous, what’s the ‘not fun‘ part?” Sirius asked.</p>
<p>The witch smiled uncertainly, “How do you feel about mandrakes?”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>It hadn’t taken Lily long to find the record of every Robin Hood sympathizer Severus knew of.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, most of these people happened to be dead or missing, but Lily copied down the names of what few weren’t before having Mary, her most trusted spy, take the record back to where she found it.</p>
<p>There were only 5 names. This was... not ideal.</p>
<p>Sure, it made it easier for Lily to pay them off so they wouldn’t tell anyone she’d visited them, but it also decreased the chances of any of them having any real information.</p>
<p>Also, all 5 were peasants, so Lily couldn’t call them into the castle to talk to them without suspicion.</p>
<p>She would have to be very careful, here. Severus had probably only let all of these people go free this long in hopes one of them could accidentally lead him to Sherwood Forest, or at least a Marauder. He was probably having all of them watched, which meant that Lily would have to try to get a message to them in a way he wouldn’t see.</p>
<p>This was going to be... difficult.</p>
<p>God, if only Dorcas was still around. Then Lily could just ask her to use her magic.</p>
<p>Of course, now, she wasn’t totally convinced that Dorcas was dead, but she still wasn’t <em>here</em>, which made things more complicated.</p>
<p>There was still something she could try, even if she didn’t especially like the option. It would mean a lot of strategic lying, and high risk that she would get caught.</p>
<p>Lily loved sticking it to corrupt officials, but she <em>didn’t</em> particularly like taking unnecessary risks that could lead to her not being able to help people anymore.</p>
<p>Remus would roll his eyes and make her work with him until they had come up with a new plan with much less risk. But unfortunately, Lily could only look at this from one perspective, and her own was not enough to come up with something better.</p>
<p>“What are we going to do, Lily?” Mary asked.</p>
<p>Lily shrugged and answered truthfully, “Something very stupid. You don’t have to help me.”</p>
<p>”If you think I’m letting you do something stupid by yourself, we haven’t been friends as long as I thought.”</p>
<p>Lily smiled. It was always good to know that there was someone she could trust.</p>
<p>”So, what are we doing?”</p>
<p>”We’re going to pull a charity project at the worst possible time.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>”When you said, ‘how do you feel about mandrakes,’ I thought you meant we’d be fighting a snake-lion thing,” James admitted.</p>
<p>Dorcas stirred the contents of her cauldron again, rolling her eyes, “That’s a <em>manticore</em>, James. And manticores are <em>extremely</em> dangerous, so I wouldn’t exactly be saying tonight was safe if you were fighting one, now would I?”</p>
<p>“I think I’d rather fight a manticore,” Sirius muttered, eying the cauldron.</p>
<p>”I definitely would,” Peter agreed.</p>
<p>Mandrakes were a plant. As in, a disgusting-looking and smelling plant that Dorcas was making into a stew, which they’d apparently have to eat.</p>
<p>”Well,” Dorcas said, “This stew is used for all kinds of rituals that involve the spirit world. It clears your mystical sinuses, to put it simply.”</p>
<p>”They’re going to the spirit world?” Remus asked, sounding worried.</p>
<p>Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, “We’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>”I wouldn’t promise that,” Dorcas admitted, “Look, tonight is just preparing your spirit for the transition. Cleaning out any interference. <em>Tomorrow night, </em>I’ll essentially be drugging you with magical poppies so that you can go to the spirit world and find your soul animal. And let’s just say... that can get interesting.”</p>
<p>”Interesting how?” Alice asked.</p>
<p>”You won’t be able to wake up until the poppies wear off. If you die in there, you die in real life. You have to evade monsters and stay alive while simultaneously trying to meet and gain the trust of your soul animal.”</p>
<p>“Fun.”</p>
<p>Sirius’s smile looked a bit faked for James’s taste.</p>
<p>”Hey, we’ll be fine,” he said, attempting confidence, “We can do this.”</p>
<p>Peter didn’t look convinced, “Dorcas... did you just say monsters?”</p>
<p>She shrugged helplessly, “The spirit world is full of them. Most will leave you alone if you leave them alone, but... with the ones who don’t, the best course of action is usually to try to run and hide.”</p>
<p>Locking eyes with Sirius, James could see that neither of them were planning on running from any monsters.</p>
<p>However, he could understand why Peter would. He hoped the spy would be alright. After all, he wasn’t much of a fighter at all.</p>
<p>Maybe he should have just had him and Sirius do this.</p>
<p>Dorcas dished out 3 bowls of the terrible-smelling stew with a shit-eating grin.</p>
<p>”Eat up, boys.”</p>
<p>As nervous as it made him, James had to admit he was a little bit proud at how Peter didn’t hesitate to choke down the stew with them.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily tried not to roll her eyes at Severus’s obvious stalling tactics.</p>
<p>Naturally, she needed his permission to go do a charity project, but as much as Lily was smart enough to trick him into letting her do it, Severus was good at almost making her back down out of frustration.</p>
<p>
  <em>Almost.</em>
</p>
<p>She knew for a fact he was reading her proposal for at least the third time, with how fast he read. He was probably not even actually paying attention to what he was reading and trying to think of a way to shoot her down that she couldn’t argue.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid it’s too dangerous,” he said finally, “I agree that some charity work might do the kingdom some good, but Robin Hood is still out there.”</p>
<p>”Robin Hood doesn’t attack peasants.”</p>
<p>”Lily, you are many things, but a peasant isn’t one of them. Have you considered the fact that Hood may have agents among the rabble who will steal the supplies you’re planning on distributing?”</p>
<p>Here came the part that could be actually dangerous, whether Severus saw through her lies or not.</p>
<p>“I can disguise myself,” Lily suggested, “If Robin Hood can do it, so can I. I’ll pick guards who can blend into a crowd and have them hide their swords. I’ll pass myself off as just a regular charity worker. No one will have to know it was me.”</p>
<p>Severus considered.</p>
<p>Lily held her breath.</p>
<p>She was counting on the fact that Severus would realize he could use her as bait. As far as he knew, she was a lady who didn’t know how to act as anything else. She would stand out easily as a target for Robin Hood.</p>
<p>In the chaos of the riot that would hopefully happen where the Merry Band would take her supplies to give to someone who truly needed them, she could slip away and talk to people who could hopefully safely get her in contact with Robin Hood.</p>
<p>
  <em>Come on, Sev... take the bait.</em>
</p>
<p>As much as Lily disliked deceiving one of her closest friends, she did recognize that it was necessary.</p>
<p>And unfortunately for Severus, she was smarter than him.</p>
<p>“Alright. Fine. I’ll have a wagon ready for you in two days. Be careful, Lily. Set up a signal with your guards and use it if you see even the slightest <em>hint</em> of trouble.”</p>
<p>With the guards Lily was planning on bringing, she most definitely would.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Dorcas looked apprehensive as she held the poppy powder in one hand, gazing at the three boys sitting in front of her.</p>
<p>The rest of the Marauders were behind her, safely out of the range of the poppies. Remus looked unhappy. Hagrid looked worried. Marlene was sewing in a corner, clearly distracting herself from her nervousness.</p>
<p>James was sitting on a bed with Sirius and Peter, and he would deny that he was nervous, too.</p>
<p>Sirius was tense enough that he definitely was at least vaguely bothered by this, though he was hiding it fairly well.</p>
<p>Peter... was definitely scared. But he didn’t back down.</p>
<p>Dorcas took a deep breath, “Last chance to back out.”</p>
<p>None of the three doing this backed down.</p>
<p>”Good luck,” Remus said solemnly.</p>
<p>”Love you, too,” Sirius said with a smile.</p>
<p>Dorcas whispered something to the powder in her hand and it started glowing vaguely.</p>
<p>She blew it in their faces and the last thing James was aware of before he fell asleep was the worried faces of his friends. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James tries to find his soul animal and survive the spirit world.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James woke up in a forest, which... didn’t seem right. He hadn’t pictured the spirit world as a forest.</p>
<p>Also... he was alone, but not. He couldn’t see Sirius and Peter, couldn’t hear them, but he could tell they were there. It was hard to describe.</p>
<p>Dorcas hadn’t told him about that part. Weird. Maybe it was specific to this spell, or whatever.</p>
<p>Whatever. James could work with this. This was fine.</p>
<p>”Hello?” he asked uncertainly, turning in a slow circle to look around, “Soul animal? Are you there?”</p>
<p>In the same way he knew with Sirius and Peter, James knew that his soul animal <em>was</em> there. He was watching. He was just hiding from him.</p>
<p>”I’m not going to hurt you,” James said, trying to sound reassuring, “I mean... you’re me, right? So you know I’m not doing this to hurt anyone or anything. I’m doing this to protect someone I love. You hear me? I’m doing this for Lily.”</p>
<p>The name seemed to echo around the forest, whispered by the trees and sang by the birds.</p>
<p>James had a very uncomfortable feeling that his soul animal wasn’t the only thing that was watching him.</p>
<p>Everything was watching.</p>
<p>This entire world, every inch of it, was alive and conscious, and it didn’t have any reason to attack James right now, but it absolutely would if he <em>gave</em> it a reason.</p>
<p>”I’m just going to...” James felt a little awkward, talking to a forest, but he did anyway, “I’m just going to look around a bit, if that’s alright. I won’t leave any damage.”</p>
<p>Nothing responded. James wasn’t sure if that was an ‘okay, you do that,’ or a ‘I will kill you if you do that.’</p>
<p>”Okay.”</p>
<p>James didn’t die when he took a step forward, so...</p>
<p>A few minutes or an hour might have passed while he just wandered around, looking behind trees, but he was starting to feel really stupid.</p>
<p>”There’s got to be a better way to do this,” James muttered to himself, “A little help would be nice. Thanks, Dorcas. You said we had to find our soul animals, like any of us have any idea how to do that.”</p>
<p>He almost jumped out of his skin as he turned around and saw an animal behind him.</p>
<p>It was a doe. A beautiful, graceful animal with distinctly green eyes.</p>
<p>It wasn’t <em>his</em> soul animal, but...</p>
<p>“Hello, Lily.”</p>
<p>The doe just blinked at him, but she was staring at him in an exasperated kind of way, like when James messed up back when Lily taught him violin.</p>
<p>”Well, if I’m doing this so wrong, why don’t you help me out?”</p>
<p>The doe simply turned around and walked away.</p>
<p>”You want me to follow?”</p>
<p>The doe looked over her shoulder, and James hadn’t thought it was possible for a deer to look annoyed before today, but this doe-that-was-Lily definitely looked annoyed.</p>
<p>”Fine,” James said, “I’ll stop talking now.”</p>
<p>He followed her, and she led him down one forest trail after another until they came to a pond.</p>
<p>There, the doe simply lied down by the water, looking at James calmly.</p>
<p>”You want me to wait?” he guessed.</p>
<p>Being a doe, she didn’t respond.</p>
<p>James had just sat down next to her when a rumble shook the ground.</p>
<p>...was that an earthquake? Did the spirit world <em>get</em> earthquakes?</p>
<p>Then another rumble came, just as brief as the first, then another, and James realized exactly what this was.</p>
<p>He was hearing and feeling footsteps.</p>
<p>The doe didn’t seem bothered, but James definitely was. The only kind of creature that could make footsteps like that that he knew of... well, there were several, actually, but they were all humongously dangerous, and James was unarmed and alone.</p>
<p>”Shouldn’t we hide?”</p>
<p>It then occurred to him that Lily wasn’t actually here. This soul-doe version of her wasn’t really her. She was just a spiritual manifestation of Lily Evans, and that meant that she probably couldn’t die.</p>
<p>James, meanwhile, very much <em>could</em> die.</p>
<p>”I’m going to hide,” he told the doe.</p>
<p>She simply stared at him, but didn’t give any signs of disapproval.</p>
<p>James stood up, judging which direction the footsteps were coming from quickly. He could do this. He didn’t have to outrun it indefinitely; just until he either found a hiding spot or the spell keeping him here wore off.</p>
<p>He’d probably have to rely on the former, as he already had no idea how long he’d been here, and therefore no idea when the latter would happen.</p>
<p>It seemed like the forest was trying to trip him with how many roots were growing across the path. James had to be careful enough that he wasn’t moving very fast and whatever was behind him was <em>definitely</em> gaining.</p>
<p>He wasn’t going to outrun whatever it was; that was for sure. He could try to fight, but...</p>
<p>James was sure the trees used to have branches low enough for him to reach and maybe pull off to use as a weapon, but now that he was looking, he didn’t see any.</p>
<p>Was this goddamn forest trying to get him—</p>
<p>The forest was alive. Maybe it <em>was</em> trying to get him killed.</p>
<p>”Um, forest,” James said, still feeling awkward about talking to it, “If you don’t mind me asking, could I find a safe place to hide until whatever that is passes? If not, I understand.”</p>
<p>The forest didn’t respond, except for growing an unreasonably high root that James promptly tripped over.</p>
<p>”Not what I had in mind, but thanks,” he muttered against the ground.</p>
<p>Then he realized where the root was coming from.</p>
<p>A tree that seemed to be halfway above ground—almost like a tree growing in a swamp—with a space between two roots that lead to some kind of dark, underground cave.</p>
<p>James would take it.</p>
<p>”Thank you, forest.”</p>
<p>Without thinking about what might be inside, James dove into the cave, pressing himself against one of the walls so he wouldn’t be visible from most angles from the entrance.</p>
<p>He could hear something sniffing around out there, but it didn’t sound like any monster he’d ever seen.</p>
<p>It didn’t actually sound like a monster at all, actually. More like a large animal.</p>
<p>James was curious enough to peek out the entrance to the cave, getting a glimpse of grayish-brown fur, and then—</p>
<p>And then he was waking up next to a scared-looking Peter and a confused-looking Sirius.</p>
<p>Everyone else must have gone to bed, because only Remus, Dorcas, and Marlene remained in the room.</p>
<p>”So, how’d it work?” Dorcas asked curiously.</p>
<p>”Lousy,” Sirius answered, “Whatever he is, I could tell my soul animal was watching me, but I didn’t so much as get a glimpse of him.”</p>
<p>“Same,” James admitted, “And I got chased by a monster.”</p>
<p>”Oh, that, too, but I figured that was less important.”</p>
<p>Remus rolled his eyes, “Getting chased by monsters is important, love.”</p>
<p>”Not as long as I keep coming back to you after I get away from them, right?”</p>
<p>”Peter, what’d you get?” James asked.</p>
<p>Peter shrugged shakily, “About the same as you, I’d guess. I wasn’t even sure he was watching, though, to be honest.”</p>
<p>”That’s normal,” Dorcas admitted, “That’s why it takes around a month. The first half is finding it and the second is earning its trust.”</p>
<p>James shrugged, “Well, I’m ready to go back in if you’re ready to send me.”</p>
<p>”No, you moron. Dosing you with magical poppies twice a night would kill you.”</p>
<p>”Well, nevermind, then.”</p>
<p>”You three should get some actual sleep,” Marlene suggested, “We’ve got a big job in a couple days, after all.”</p>
<p>”A big job?” James asked.</p>
<p>”Right,” Remus said, “One of our allies called in to say there’s a charity worker from the castle going to distribute food and money to the needy. And normally, I’d be all for letting them do just that, but...”</p>
<p>”Given that it’s from the castle, they won’t know who’s <em>actually</em> needy enough to need it,” Sirius finished, “And they’ll have good stuff that we can make sure gets to good people who genuinely need it and not arseholes who’ll pretend like they do.”</p>
<p>”Please, don’t interrupt me. But yes. James, I signed off on it when Frank asked. I figured—“</p>
<p>”No, that’s good, mate,” James agreed, “Sounds good. I’m all for it. When’s the job?”</p>
<p>”Day after tomorrow,” Dorcas said, “So we’d best all get some sleep if we want to pull it off without losing anyone.”</p>
<p>Marlene slapped her arm, “We aren’t going to lose anyone! However, I do agree that we should all get some sleep.”</p>
<p>Maybe it was corny to say, but when James slept that night, he dreamed of a doe.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James slips up on the job and Lily is a genius.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Well, night two in the spirit world had worked just as well as the first one.</p>
<p>In short, James hadn’t had any more success than his first round chasing the doe that was Lily, and Sirius and Peter weren’t having any more luck.</p>
<p>While this was frustrating, there wasn’t much they could do about it, so during the day, they focused on plotting their next job; the charity project.</p>
<p>Judging by the intel Peter was getting by spying, it would be sparsely guarded. They wouldn’t even need to bring everyone.</p>
<p>Which was especially good, considering James no longer felt comfortable bringing Alice or Frank on anything more dangerous than a hunting trip.</p>
<p>Hagrid would attract too much attention, Marlene wasn’t much of a fighter, and Kingsley physically couldn’t stray that far from the forest.</p>
<p>So, it would be James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Dorcas, and the Prewetts.</p>
<p>The eight of them against, reportedly, only four guards. They could pull this off, probably no problem.</p>
<p>”Got your masks, everybody?”</p>
<p>Sirius grinned, tying his around his eyes, “Don’t we always?”</p>
<p>Remus rolled his eyes, “Your mask is upside down, love.”</p>
<p>”Shit.”</p>
<p>Peter laughed.</p>
<p>”Oh, shut up, Peter.”</p>
<p>James smiled, “You know, it’s moments like these that I wonder where we would be without Remus.”</p>
<p>”Dead, probably,” Molly said good-naturedly.</p>
<p>“And without you, Mols, we’d be somewhere safer,” Fabian said, ruffling his sister’s hair.</p>
<p>James tuned out the resulting argument.</p>
<p>He needed to be focused in this. Judging by the look on Remus’s face, he’d judged that it might be a trap, too.</p>
<p>They couldn’t afford to lose anybody.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Changing in the back of a wagon wasn’t easy, but it was better than trying to sneak around in the dress of a noblewoman.</p>
<p>God, it had been a long time since Lily had worn pants. She hadn’t since James ‘died.’</p>
<p>
  <em>Nope. Don’t think like that, Lily. You don’t know for sure that he’s not dead yet. Don’t get your hopes up.</em>
</p>
<p>Still, wearing the clothes of a man brought her back to her childhood, learning combat and hunting from James. She missed it.</p>
<p>”Lily, we’re almost to the square,” Mary called from the driver’s seat.</p>
<p>“Right. I assume the guards are ready?”</p>
<p>Lily could hear her smile as she answered, “To cause a distraction so you can skip away and go visit the Robin Hood sympathizers? Of course. You did hand pick them, after all.”</p>
<p>Ah, yes. Lily was rather good at choosing who to trust. The fact that she wasn’t dead yet was a testament to how good she was.</p>
<p>The wagon stopped, and Lily braced her boots against the edge of the wagon, under the tarp covering it, ready to jump off and run.</p>
<p>Then someone screamed.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>It was impressive how you could walk through a crowd with a hood on over your mask and not have anyone bat an eye. People really were oblivious.</p>
<p>Well, besides little kids. Little kids were at just the right angle that they could see under the hood, and they would stare at you and then hide their faces when you smiled at them.</p>
<p>Also, their parents didn’t believe them when they said they saw a man in a mask, so it was safe if they saw you.</p>
<p>James loved little kids. They were so fun.</p>
<p>Scanning the square around where the charity wagon had stopped, there weren’t many of them around. Good.</p>
<p>Sirius bumped his shoulder, “Ready?”</p>
<p>James really hoped he was, but to be honest, he was off his game. Him, Sirius, and Peter all were. The whole spirit world thing was... kind of messed up.</p>
<p>Whatever. They’d figure it out.</p>
<p>Locking eyes with Dorcas, positioned across the square, he nodded.</p>
<p>Just as planned, James saw her pull out some magical flowers she’d picked in their last trip to the Northern Moors.</p>
<p>It was fun, wasn’t it, how names were rather literal up there?</p>
<p>Such as snapdragons.</p>
<p>Which happened to spew streams of fire like <em>actual</em> dragons when thrown hard at the ground.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily’s plan had been to wait for the guards to start a very loud fake argument with Mary, then slip out of the wagon and sneak to the house of the Robin Hood sympathizer, but the riot that sounded like it was going on outside was <em>not</em> the plan.</p>
<p>The <em>hell</em>?</p>
<p>Lily dropped out of the wagon, rolling to her feet quickly to see what was wrong.</p>
<p>There were several places around the square on fire?</p>
<p>Lily was <em>very</em> confused, but this was as good a distraction as any. It wasn’t exactly the plan, but she could still go meet this Robin Hood sympathizer while Severus’s undercover guards that had no-doubt followed her dealt with the—</p>
<p>Someone made a call like a wolf howl, only—</p>
<p>No way.</p>
<p>Lily knew that howl.</p>
<p>The howler appeared to be a tall man in a cloak, signaling 3 more cloaked figures to come out of nowhere, and join with the group of 5 already converging on the wagon.</p>
<p>Six men, two women. Their features obscured by cloaks and masks, but...</p>
<p>The man who’d howled was tall and skinny, like Remus. And one of the other men was keeping rather close to him, the height difference almost exactly the one Lily remembered between him and Sirius.</p>
<p>One of the women was throwing some kind of magic at the ground, creating a perimeter of fire, and she was about the right build to be Dorcas.</p>
<p>The other women and two of the men were completely unfamiliar, but one of the remaining two was so short that Lily had almost mistook him for a woman, and he wasn’t carrying as much as the others, like he was weaker. Lily tried to keep in mind that it might just be her seeing what she wanted to see, but it looked like Peter.</p>
<p>And the last man...</p>
<p>The last man jumped on top of the wagon, “Never fear, ladies and gentlemen! We’ll make sure these goods get to those who really need them!”</p>
<p>The man was in a <em>green</em> cloak.</p>
<p>“It’s Robin Hood!” someone yelled.</p>
<p>Many people were cheering, but Lily was frozen and silent.</p>
<p>The voice of that man was deeper than she remembered it, either from time or as a disguise.</p>
<p>But she’d know that voice anywhere.</p>
<p>God, she’d been so stupid not to see it.</p>
<p>The stars were easy to connect, now that she knew what constellation to look for.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Maybe it was shallow of him, but James never quite got used to the adoring cheers of commoners who found hope in Robin Hood.</p>
<p>Most of the Marauders said it fed his ego, but honestly, James could live with that. He could bask in the glory for a few seconds. It wasn’t like it was hurting anyone.</p>
<p>And besides, it made sure any fire that was coming went directly for him while the others focused on grabbing as much of the valuables in the wagon as they could carry and spiriting them away.</p>
<p>As James scanned the crowd for threats, oddly... he wasn’t seeing any. Even the guards didn’t seem to be stopping them, which was <em>unusual</em>, to say the least, but James guessed not everyone was loyal to the crown by choice.</p>
<p>That was when his eyes landed on one person in the crowd.</p>
<p>Someone dressed in a man’s clothes, but clearly a woman.</p>
<p>A woman who’s face James would never forget.</p>
<p>It had been over a year, but <em>God</em>, she hadn’t changed.</p>
<p>Lily locked eyes with him, and James saw recognition there.</p>
<p>Oh, no.</p>
<p>Beyond the fact that he hadn’t even remotely expected her to be there, this complicated things beyond belief.</p>
<p>”Robin, it’s Snivillus’s cronies!”</p>
<p>James wanted to do anything but look away from Lily, but he forced himself to break eye contact at Sirius’s shout.</p>
<p>Knights were pushing their way through the crowd, getting much too close for comfort.</p>
<p>”Don’t worry, folks!” he shouted, “You haven’t seen the last of Robin Hood and his Merry Band of Marauders!”</p>
<p>With that, James grabbed a sack of what was probably flour and jumped off the wagon, running off into the crowd with his friends.</p>
<p>The people were cheering as they made their escape. The others were grinning, exhilarated.</p>
<p>But James couldn’t feel anything but shock.</p>
<p>Lily knew who he was.</p>
<p>Lily knew that James was Robin Hood.</p>
<p>This was bad.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m really sorry but I’m having trouble coming up with more ideas for this au and I’m running out of time before I’m supposed to have it finished so I’m probably gonna try to finish it really quick. I’ll do my best to make it good but I make no promises.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lily and James both scramble to finish their plans.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*cracks knuckles* 3 chapters in 2 months on an AU I’m running out of ideas for? Let’s hope I can pull this off.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The others were celebrating, but James could barely hear them. Sure, a successful raid was always exciting, but right now, he couldn’t be happy with them.</p><p>He should have grabbed Lily right there and taken her with them while he could. He could have brought her home <em>today </em>if he’d just kept his wits about him when he saw her face.</p><p><em>Stupid</em>. That was what he was.</p><p>Well, Lily knew that. She always had. She’d frequently scolded him for being stupid throughout their childhood, laughing when she knew something he didn’t.</p><p>Of course, he’d done the same. He’d made fun of her for not being able to draw back his bow with ease. For not being able to nail a fencing move right away. And on the rare occasion that he knew something Lily didn’t, he’d had to make the most of it.</p><p>For some reason, he pictured himself laughing at her, now.</p><p>
  <em>”Ha ha, I was Robin Hood and you didn’t know! Who’s stupid now, stupid?”</em>
</p><p>Lily would have a comeback in an instant. He knew that, even if he couldn’t think of it just now, himself.</p><p>God, what was <em>she</em> thinking, now? She’d <em>recognized</em> him. She’d already guessed that James wasn’t dead, but faking his death so he could become a hooded vigilante?</p><p>Faking his death so he could become a hooded vigilante <em>and not telling her about it?</em></p><p>Lily was probably absolutely pissed at him right now. Honestly, James didn’t blame her.</p><p>What <em>would</em> have happened if he’d told her about running off to form Sherwood Forest?</p><p>Oh, that one was easy. Lily would have wanted to come along. She would have <em>forced</em> James to bring her, and he had no doubt that she would’ve been able to handle it. She was damn near as good a shot as him, after all. She would’ve survived just fine and... well, she was the smartest person James knew. She would’ve taken down Snape herself by now.</p><p>He could’ve brought Lily home a long time ago if he’d have just thought of it then.</p><p><em>God</em>, James was so stupid.</p><p>He was glad that his friends were equally stupid, all of them so caught up in the euphoria of a successful job that they didn’t notice how quiet he was as they distributed the goods to those who needed them.</p><p>Kingsley was waiting for them below Sherwood when they got back.</p><p>”A new group of refugees arrived,” he informed them, “Alice and Frank are escorting them to the Northern Moors.”</p><p>”They didn’t wait for us to get back?” Remus asked, surprised.</p><p>Kingsley shrugged, “They said they’d save the rest of you some time. I wouldn’t worry. If anything, Alice’s pregnancy should make them fight <em>harder</em> than usual.”</p><p>”Doesn’t change the fact that they shouldn’t be taking risks like that,” Dorcas grumbled, “That kid needs its parents.”</p><p>”Aw, have a little faith in them, Dory,” Sirius said, “If anyone can trek all the way to the extremely dangerous, magical Northern Moors as the only capable fighters in a large group and make it back alive, it’s the Longbottoms.”</p><p>Remus put an arm around him, “You’re making everyone feel so much better about their chances.”</p><p>Molly smacked him upside the head.</p><p>”James,” Fabian said suddenly, “Robin. You’re being oddly quiet.”</p><p>Oh, great. Now that one of them had noticed it, they’d all noticed it.</p><p>”What’s wrong?” Peter asked nervously.</p><p>James took a deep breath. He knew he owed his Marauders the truth.</p><p>”Lily was there. I saw her. She was disguised, but it was definitely her.”</p><p>Sirius tilted his head.</p><p>Remus looked mildly concerned.</p><p>Dorcas and Molly exchanged a skeptical look.</p><p>”James,” Dorcas said gently, “Lily is under constant watch. How would she be there?”</p><p>”I know,” he admitted, “I know how unlikely it is and how hard it would be for someone like her to get out of the castle. So, I don’t know how she got out there or why she did, but I know what I saw. Do you think I’d ever forget her eyes? Her face? It was <em>her</em>.”</p><p>There was a second of silence, and James feared his friends would think he was crazy.</p><p>Then Remus shrugged, “If <em>anyone</em> could outwit Snape, Malfoy, and every other man in Nottingham castle, it would be Lily.”</p><p>”She...” Peter hesitated, “She may have been doing it for months.”</p><p>”What?”</p><p>James wasn’t particularly surprised about this, but he was <em>very</em> surprised that Peter had kept it from him.</p><p>Peter took a deep breath, “I didn’t think it was true, but... on some of my spy missions, there’s been rumors of a network of spies and informants throughout the castle. A network run by some noble nobody would betray. Most of the servants either don’t believe it exists or pretend they don’t because... because they’re probably a part of it, but...”</p><p>James watched as his friend realized something.</p><p>”There have been things I couldn’t find a reason for. Little things I didn’t tell you about because they didn’t make sense, but... but they also didn’t seem like a big deal.”</p><p>“Pete,” Sirius said, sounding slightly annoyed, “Tell us now.”</p><p>”James,” Kingsley said, “Breathe.”</p><p>James hadn’t even realized he was holding his breath.</p><p>Peter looked at the ground, “There was a kitchen maid who was talking about how she couldn’t afford a new dress for her growing daughter. The next week, I saw the girl with a new dress, myself. There was a guard that was going to be flogged for sleeping on duty, and then out of nowhere, Snape pardoned him. And... and there was a witch they captured, who was going to be burned, but she disappeared from her cell the night before.”</p><p>”There’s no spell that can just <em>get</em> you out of a cell with no trace,” Dorcas muttered.</p><p>”Exactly,” Peter agreed, “I thought that was odd, but I figured, maybe those guards were sleeping on duty, too. But... if Lily is smart enough to get out of the castle today—“</p><p>”She is,” James interrupted.</p><p>Peter nodded, “Right, well, assuming she’s the noble responsible for everything else that’s been happening behind Snape’s back... Lily has been quietly getting prisoners out of jail, poor people what they need, and traitors information for <em>months</em>.”</p><p>Remus swore under his breath, “One of my informants for raids keeps saying he can’t tell me where he gets his intel because it could put his source in danger. A source <em>inside</em> the castle. Shit.”</p><p>”I’ll bet she told Andie she was in danger to draw us out,” Sirius mumbled.</p><p>“But she didn’t know James was Robin Hood,” Molly argued.</p><p>”Doesn’t matter,” Remus countered, “Lily would know that if we were all still alive, Andromeda would tell Sirius and Sirius would tell James. And then there’d be nothing that could stop James from trying to get to her.”</p><p>”She’d count on it,” James muttered, and all his friends went silent, “We thought we were the ones playing the system, but... Lily’s been the one in control of the game the whole time.”</p><p>”She’s always been the smartest one in the room,” Dorcas agreed.</p><p>Molly started laughing awkwardly, “I want to meet her even more, now.”</p><p>Those two would probably get along, but James couldn’t even laugh at all the fires they’d probably start together right now.</p><p>Sirius walked over and threw an arm around him, “So, what’s the plan, now, mate?”</p><p>James shrugged, “Does there need to be one? Lily can get herself out. I guess all that’s left now is to find a way to tell her where to meet us.”</p><p>“Uh... James, mate, Lily doesn’t know you’re Robin.”</p><p>”Oh,” James laughed, “About that...”</p><p>...</p><p>”You’re <em>sure</em> it was him?”</p><p>Lily sighed, “For the last time, Mary, <em>yes</em>, I’m sure. It was James. James is alive. He’s Robin Hood.”</p><p>Mary nodded uncertainly, “And the others..?”</p><p>”Well, I definitely saw Remus, Sirius, and maybe Peter,” she reasoned, “Three of them were unfamiliar, but the fourth one I wasn’t sure about might have been Dorcas.”</p><p>”You really think it was her?”</p><p>Lily shrugged, “It was a woman, and she used magic. According to reports of Robin Hood’s activities, he’s been working with a witch since the beginning. And Dorcas disappeared when James did.”</p><p>”You mean she died when he did.”</p><p>”Mary, will you stop pacing?”</p><p>Mary did stop pacing, “Sorry. I’m just... finding it hard to believe. Why didn’t they tell us they were alive? Why didn’t they take us with them?”</p><p>That was, of course, the one thing Lily wasn’t sure about. After all, James knew she was smart. He knew she was strong. So why wouldn’t he trust her enough to bring her along on his crusade when he brought seemingly all of the rest of their friends?</p><p>Lily shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ll be sure to ask James when I find him.”</p><p>“And what will we do until then?”</p><p>That was... a good question. Lily didn’t have much of a plan as of now.</p><p>She still didn't know where Sherwood Forest was, or have a way to contact Robin Hood. However, she did know who he was and that he would most likely be <em>at least</em> sending her a message as soon as he could.</p><p>She just needed to make sure she was ready to leave when he did.</p><p>”For now, we need to figure out who Lord Voldemort is,” she decided, “Whoever he is, he’ll be a threat to Robin Hood and the Marauders. They’ll need whatever we can find out about him.”</p><p>Mary nodded, “And how are we going to do that?”</p><p>”By asking the one person who knows more about what goes on in this kingdom than me.”</p><p>...</p><p>There was nothing they could do on their plan until the moon rose, so James had several hours to sit and think.</p><p>He <em>really</em> hated that.</p><p>James had never done well with sitting still and doing nothing when someone he cared about was in danger. He’d had plenty of practice, and yet had never gotten better at it.</p><p>God, James still wanted to kill Sirius’s parents.</p><p>He had whenever they went running off in the woods as children and Peter wasn’t the one requesting they slow down. Whenever Remus wasn’t the one sporting a new scar. Whenever James had to suggest they <em>all</em> sleep over, just to keep Sirius out of that damn house for the night.</p><p>James <em>had</em> challenged the Blacks, exactly once. When he was little and didn’t know any better. He’d challenged Lord Black to a duel, gotten his ass kicked, and hadn’t helped anything.</p><p><em>”It’s fine, James,”</em> Sirius has said, <em>“Nobody can beat him.”</em> and it had made his blood boil.</p><p>James honestly had never been a warrior at heart the way the people he always seemed to surround himself with were. He considered himself a brave and honorable fighter, but he didn’t particularly like fighting.</p><p>But he’d kept fighting, kept training, learning every trick his father could teach him and then every trick from every teacher in the land willing to take him on, all so that he could prove his best friend wrong.</p><p>He’d never gotten the chance to. He’d never felt like he was ready, and then later, there was no need to anymore. Sirius was safe and even Regulus had gotten himself out of there, though James did wish he’d done it by some other method than joining Sheriff Snape’s forces.</p><p>Maybe that was why the itch in James’s bones, that <em>save, protect, fight for</em> instinct had never stopped. Because he hadn’t been able to protect his friend and had never really won against the person hurting him.</p><p>Hell, he’d never been able to protect any of his other friends, either. He couldn’t protect Peter from his parents’ indifference, Marlene from being constantly nagged to get married, or Remus, Dorcas, and Hagrid from being hated and feared for what they were. Maybe that was why he tried so hard to protect everyone else.</p><p>James wasn’t even really sure where he was going with this thought train anymore.</p><p>Maybe it was all circling back to the fact that throughout their childhood, James had worried excessively about each of his friends. His mother used to say he was like a miniature version of her, a mother hen worrying over his own clutch of chicks.</p><p>The one person he’d never worried over was Lily.</p><p>Because the others had things—people—they couldn’t face, and Lily didn’t.</p><p>There was not a single person Lily couldn’t face in a fight, be it intellectual or physical, and win. Or at least, she never <em>had</em>.</p><p>But she was surrounded now, with too many opponents on all sides. Even she couldn’t win against that many. Not alone.</p><p>James was so restless now because the one person he’d never had to worry about was the only one he couldn’t protect now.</p><p>There was a knock on the door, and James jumped.</p><p>”Come in.”</p><p>Sirius entered, closed the door behind him, and flopped down on James’s bed.</p><p>”How you doing, mate?”</p><p>James shrugged, “Well, Lily now knows what very well may be the most dangerous secret in the kingdom, and we are barely any closer to getting her out of that castle, so I’m wonderful. How are <em>you</em> doing?”</p><p>Sirius had clearly been hoping he was going to ask, because he sighed heavily and sat up, “Not so good.”</p><p>James elbowed him, “Talk to me. What is it?”</p><p>A smile almost crossed his best friend’s face, but then didn’t. Sirius just kept staring at the floor.</p><p>”That’s just it. Talking. He doesn’t anymore. Not to me.”</p><p>“Who, Moony?”</p><p>”No, Lord Malfoy. Of course Moony, you stupid prick.”</p><p>James shoved him, “Well, <em>why</em> do you think he’s not talking to you?”</p><p>“Because he doesn’t want me to worry,” Sirius responded, frustrated, “He <em>always</em> does this when he doesn’t want me to worry. He shuts me out, as if I can’t <em>see</em> him hurting, anyway.”</p><p>James honestly hadn’t noticed that, “He does?”</p><p>“Yeah. You just don’t see it because he acts normal for missions and hunting and pretty much <em>everything</em> involving the rest of you lot. And then suddenly, we’re alone in a treehouse and I ask him if he’s alright and he just... he looks right <em>through</em> me.”</p><p>He sighed again, and James realized that he didn’t think he’d seen his friend this upset since... well, since before they ran away and formed Sherwood Forest.</p><p>”Seeing Greyback again messed him up worse than he’ll admit. He doesn’t speak a word when we’re alone. Sometimes he can’t let me hug him after a nightmare, which, by the way, he’s had a lot of in the last few days. It’s like he’s dying in there, but he won’t let me help him.”</p><p>James felt guilty that he hadn’t seen how badly seeing the man who turned him into a werewolf had hurt his friend, but that wasn’t what was really important right now.</p><p>“Well, he doesn’t even let me <em>see</em> he’s hurting,” he pointed out, “So maybe just you <em>knowing</em> he’s in pain is him letting you help as much as he can.”</p><p>Sirius was silent for a few seconds.</p><p>”How does someone as stupid as you think of things as wise as that?”</p><p>James shrugged, “It’s a gift.”</p><p>They both laughed a little.</p><p>“We’re going to get Lily back, mate,” Sirius said when they calmed down, “Once we can turn into animals, chances are, one of us will be able to sneak into the castle unnoticed.”</p><p>”Yeah,” James agreed, laughing, “Or maybe one of us will turn into something epic, like a dragon, and we can just fly in and get her.”</p><p>”I don’t think it does magical animals.”</p><p>”Well, let’s just say it can and not ask Dorcas! That way we won’t be disappointed!”</p><p>James didn’t know why, but they both laughed for an unreasonable amount of time.</p><p>...</p><p>“Thank you for coming, Milady.”</p><p>”Of course, Lady Evans. You said it was urgent, so how could I not?”</p><p>Lily grinned. She loved Lady McGonagall. There really was no one else like her in <em>any</em> kingdom.</p><p>”So,” she said, sitting down at the tea table, “Why have you called me here, Lady Evans?”</p><p>Lily took a deep breath.</p><p>She hadn’t actually ever told McGonagall about her spy network, not a hundred percent sure she would approve. Whatever. No time like the present.</p><p>”Because I think you’re probably the one person who knows more about what happens in this kingdom than me.”</p><p>McGonagall raised an eyebrow, “Is that so?”</p><p>”Yes.”</p><p>Lily held her breath for her reaction.</p><p>”Well, of course I am, Evans. Why do you think your little spy network has stayed intact as long as it has? Commendable espionage, by the way, for someone so young, though you’ve made a few mistakes I‘ve had to cover up. There is certainly room for improvement, but for one woman acting alone, you have amassed quite an influence.”</p><p>Lily wasn’t sure if all that could be considered a compliment or not, but she decided to take it as such.</p><p>”I have,” she agreed, “But there are things my network of informants <em>can’t</em> find out. There’s one specific piece of information that I don’t have, but I think you might.”</p><p>”Well, what is it, Evans?” McGonagall asked, sipping her tea.</p><p>”Severus—Sheriff Snape—and Lord Malfoy have been quietly amassing soldiers and dark creatures into some kind of army to fight Robin Hood and his Marauders. Only... they’re not doing it for themselves.”</p><p>”Yes, we both already know this,” McGonagall said, “So, what do you <em>not</em> know?”</p><p>”I don’t know who they’re creating the army <em>for</em>,” Lily admitted, “I heard a name, but I didn’t recognize it. I’ve done research everywhere I can think of and I can’t find it—Lord Voldemort.”</p><p>McGonagall stared at her, and Lily found herself doubting her teacher, unsure if the older woman really knew anything she didn’t.</p><p>Then she spoke, her tone deadly serious.</p><p>”You are meddling in things that are very dangerous, Lily,” she said, “And very complicated. Now, we both know that Lord Potter will be coming for you sooner or later. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to wait for him, then convince young James to run off with you and hide somewhere?”</p><p>”Yes,” Lily said firmly, “I’m sure.”</p><p>”Well, then, “McGonagall declared, “I certainly hope you remember the most important piece of advice I gave you, Lady Evans.”</p><p>”A good lady keeps a smile on her face when she feels uncertain,” Lily recalled, “A better one keeps a smile on her face and a hand on the knife behind her back.”</p><p>”Yes. Good.”</p><p>”I understand that,” Lily said, “I know that I have to be underhanded—that it’s the only way I can exert influence and not get caught, but—“</p><p>”No,” McGonagall said, looking extremely exasperated, “I’m afraid you’ve missed the point of that advice completely.”</p><p>Lily gasped as she pulled out a dagger, seemingly out of nowhere.</p><p>”Lady McGonagall—“</p><p>”The true lesson was as follows,” McGonagall said pointedly, “A good lady uses her underhand to exert influence. A better one uses her underhand to <em>always</em> be the most dangerous one in the room.”</p><p>Lily nodded shakily, still honestly shocked, “Alright.</p><p>“You really shouldn’t go anywhere unarmed, Evans,” McGonagall said dryly, tucking the knife away God knew where, “Especially if you’re going to take on the information I’m about to tell you.”</p><p>Lily nodded again, “I’m listening.”</p><p>But McGonagall shook her head, “Oh, not here, Lily. Too dangerous. But... the stars are really quite magnificent from Nottingham castle. Especially from the east tower around midnight.”</p><p>...</p><p>James woke up a few feet in the air, promptly falling into a shallow pond.</p><p>”Are you serious?” he yelled to the magical forest that was the spirit world.</p><p>He thought he could hear Sirius laughing and declaring that <em>no, I’m Sirius! </em>but he honestly wasn’t sure if it was the forest mimicking his best friend or just a voice in his head.</p><p>“Thanks, forest,” he mumbled, picking himself up and sloshing to the shore to pour the water out of his shoes.</p><p>As he sat down to wring out his socks, he thought he saw something in the bushes.</p><p>Then, he <em>definitely</em> saw it as it ran from one hiding place to another, just a bit too fast for him to see what it was.</p><p>”Lily?”</p><p>No. Whatever that was, it was bigger than Lily’s doe. It was smaller than the monster that had been chasing him the last few nights, but...</p><p>”Hey. Are you my soul animal? Me?”</p><p>Whatever it was didn’t come out, but it wasn’t running away, either.</p><p>”I’m not going to hurt you.”</p><p>James took a step towards the bush, but with that, whatever it was ran, lightning fast as it streaked away in a blur of shadow and fur.</p><p>Something... smaller than a horse, but bigger than a dog. James had no clue, honestly.</p><p>”Not tonight?” he asked, “Alright.”</p><p>He knew the forest could <em>tell</em> he was impatient, but he tried not to show it on his face, anyway.</p><p>He hoped Lily could hold out as long as he needed her to.</p><p>...</p><p>”So, why did we need to come up here?” Lily asked.</p><p>”Because,” Lady McGonagall said, “Lord Voldemort is likely the most dangerous person alive.”</p><p>Lily nodded, “Okay... but <em>who</em> is he?”</p><p>“No one knows his true identity. Only that his father was a Lord and his mother was a witch... and that somehow has made him one of the most powerful magic users in history.”</p><p>”So... why are Sheriff Snape and Lord Malfoy making him an army?”</p><p>McGonagall shrugged, “To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. Lord Malfoy is the kind of buffoon I could see getting mixed up with a magic user and being too afraid to stop making deals, but Sheriff Snape actually has a brain. He was one of the brightest boys I ever taught, if not the morally best.”</p><p>”He does what he thinks is right,” Lily said, feeling the need to defend her friend, “He can’t help that he’s misguided.”</p><p>”I’m surprised to hear that from you, of all people.”</p><p>”Why? Severus is my friend.”</p><p>McGonagall gave her a look that made Lily feel like she was missing something obvious.</p><p>She wanted to ask what it was, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer. Her voice was stuck in her throat.</p><p>”You don’t know, do you?” McGonagall asked at last.</p><p>Lily unstuck her voice, “Know what?”</p><p>”You <em>have</em> figured out that the Potters’ mansion catching fire was no accident?”</p><p>Lily nodded. She had known that for months.</p><p>James had given a speech at a meeting of the lords, about how they had to stop hoarding their wealth and start caring for their people, and how they needed to improve relations with magical creatures. He proposed a radical plan that would improve perhaps millions of lives across several species, and... needless to say... most of the traditionalist lords hadn’t reacted well.</p><p>But, as James was a fairly good public speaker, the speech had swayed many of the younger lords, and even a few of the older ones.</p><p>The fire happened not a week later.</p><p>The fact that someone had set it on purpose wasn’t a hard conclusion to draw. Lily was sure she wasn’t the only one to make it.</p><p>“I don’t know who set that fire, but it was one of Lord Voldemort’s supporters. Lily...”</p><p>McGonagall too a deep breath, and Lily honestly feared any truth that could make Minerva McGonagall pause.</p><p>”Severus knew about it beforehand. He could have warned the Potters, and he didn’t.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>James and the Marauders work on their Animagus plans. Lily struggles to maintain her cover.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is terrible so I apologize in advance.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>James was getting tired of being on guard to run or hide from that stupid giant monster.</p>
<p>He didn’t even know what it was. He’d been avoiding it for weeks and hadn’t gotten <em>one</em> good look at it. The forest woke him up before he got a real glimpse of it.</p>
<p>But he’d seen something else, too. Just glimpses of it, but it was a lot smaller than whatever that monster was.</p>
<p>It was grayish-brown, wicked fast, and very shy.</p>
<p>James wasn’t sure what it was. Honestly, the only clues he had lead him to say that it was bigger than a coyote, but smaller than a horse.</p>
<p>He was running through the list of what it could be, but he wasn’t coming out with anything that would be useful in battle.</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. Soul animals didn’t have to be useful in battle.</p>
<p>He hoped his would be, but...</p>
<p>Dorcas would probably call him shallow for wanting that.</p>
<p>Eh. Maybe he was. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world to be.</p>
<p>”You know, the longer I’m stuck trying to gain your trust, the longer Lily is stuck in that damn castle!”</p>
<p>An angry wind went through the trees, knocking off James’s hood, but otherwise, there was no response.</p>
<p>”Fine,” he said simply, “Go ahead. Keep testing me! It’s not like I’ve got anything to lose here!”</p>
<p>Whatever was watching didn’t respond.</p>
<p>Of course it didn’t.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily had never found it hard to conceal her thoughts before.</p>
<p>Not when she was a child, sneaking around to learn fighting and survival skills from James, and not when she got older, building her spy network and working behind the backs of everyone standing in her way.</p>
<p>She’d never found it hard to conceal her thoughts from Severus, especially. He saw what he wanted to when it came to her, because they were best friends and he always wanted to believe she was on his side.</p>
<p>But before today, Lily hadn’t known that he was partially responsible for the fire that killed James’s parents.</p>
<p>Lord and Lady Potter had always been kind to her, even if they were partially responsible for Lily and James’s betrothal.</p>
<p>Severus could have saved them and he didn’t.</p>
<p>Lily would <em>never</em> forgive him.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that kind of resentment wasn’t easy to hide.</p>
<p>Lily was fighting the urge to end their chess game by stabbing him through the eye with her bishop piece.</p>
<p>”What’s with you, today?”</p>
<p>How tempting it was to tell him, just to see the look on his face as he undoubtedly would scramble to defend himself.</p>
<p>”It’s not a good day for me,” she said instead.</p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>Lily did some quick thinking and came up with an excuse that <em>never</em> failed, no matter how many times she used it.</p>
<p>“It’s a bad time of month.”</p>
<p>Severus nodded uncomfortably, “Right. Sorry. I’ll go easy on you.”</p>
<p>Lily wished she could say she wanted to murder him for that.</p>
<p>The worst part was that she didn’t. She couldn’t. Though logic told her that Severus was no longer her friend, some part of her still considered him that and still cared about him.</p>
<p>Lily knew she couldn’t control her feelings, but she could control her actions. She could make the choice to cut Severus out no matter how hard it was.</p>
<p>It <em>was</em> hard. But she’d do it, anyway.</p>
<p>At least she wouldn’t have to contemplate bringing him with her anymore when she left. That was one thing the anger was making easier.</p>
<p>God, she hoped James was hurrying.</p>
<p>“So, have you come any closer to capturing Robin Hood, yet?”</p>
<p>Severus sighed, “Unfortunately, no. I’ve got my best men on it, but they’re not having much luck.”</p>
<p><em>Good</em>, Lily thought, not that she was surprised.</p>
<p>Now that she knew it was him, she wondered how she’d never thought of it before, how Severus was actually a very smart man, yet Robin Hood constantly outwitted him.</p>
<p>Just like James always did when they were kids.</p>
<p>”He’s proving to be quite a worthy adversary,” Severus admitted, “But I’ll get him. Don’t worry.”</p>
<p>”How?” Lily asked, “He’s been evading you for months.”</p>
<p>
  <em>Come on, Sev. Tell me your plan...</em>
</p>
<p>Severus shrugged, “I’m sure you’ve noticed the extra forces coming in.”</p>
<p>”Of course.”</p>
<p>”Well, we’re marching on Sherwood with our army,” he said simply, “If Hood won’t fight, we’ll simply burn it all to the ground. If he will, he can’t possibly win against us.”</p>
<p>The worst part was that if half the forces Lily knew about were really going into battle, James and the others wouldn’t stand a chance.</p>
<p>And he definitely would fight, because that was who he was.</p>
<p>”So, when is this happening?”</p>
<p>Judging by the look on his face, Sev’s blindspot for Lily wasn’t big enough that she could ask a question like that without raising suspicion.</p>
<p>”I want to know when I’ll be free to leave this castle.”</p>
<p>Severus nodded, “Don’t worry. It will be soon.”</p>
<p><em>Soon</em> wasn’t helpful. It wasn’t specific enough.</p>
<p>She hoped James was doing better in whatever plan he was currently concocting.</p>
<p>Lily hated feeling so helpless, not knowing what to do while stuck in the castle.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>James was hating life, hiding from that big, furry monster again.</p>
<p>God, he was starting to doubt he was <em>ever</em> going to connect with his soul animal. He still hadn’t even gotten a really clear look at it.</p>
<p>Maybe it was a wolf? Like... a big wolf? It was fast enough to be a wolf.</p>
<p>Just his luck, of course, a twig near him chose that exact moment to snap, and whatever that monster was froze, then turned towards James.</p>
<p>It had soulless black eyes. He could see that now, even if he still couldn’t tell <em>what</em> it was.</p>
<p>“Uh... bye.”</p>
<p>James turned around and ran out of the bush he’d been hiding behind, not daring to look back as he poured all his strength into speed.</p>
<p>...he didn’t usually run this fast, did he?</p>
<p>No. The way James was moving, no human could <em>possibly</em> run this fast.</p>
<p>There was something running alongside him, just out of view, weaving in and out of the bushes and undergrowth.</p>
<p>It looked like James was matching it, stride for stride.</p>
<p>It was clearly his soul animal, but <em>what was it..?</em></p>
<p>James tripped over something trying to get a glimpse of it, landing on his face in the dirt.</p>
<p>He could still hear the monster behind him, but it was far off. He was outrunning it easily somehow.</p>
<p>But he wouldn’t be if he just stayed here on the ground.</p>
<p>He looked up and found himself face to face with a stag.</p>
<p>This thing was... he was magnificent. He was bigger than any buck James had ever shot. His antlers looked sharp enough to piece armor and his fur looked thick enough to block out the cold of any winter.</p>
<p>And he had curiously light eyes. Almost less like the dark brown deer usually had and more... hazel.</p>
<p>He had James’s eyes because he <em>was</em> James.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily was armed with a bow and two quivers of arrows, her mask hastily made, and this was quite possibly the dumbest thing she’d ever done.</p>
<p>That wasn’t saying much, considering Lily didn’t take many risks that weren’t carefully calculated, none of the ones she <em>did</em> take being dumb, but this was stupid by anyone’s standards.</p>
<p>The basic idea here was that every dark creature she killed down here was one less James and the others would had to deal with later. And she didn’t really know what she was dealing with down here, but she was equipped with everything she needed, hopefully.</p>
<p>One quiver of 100% wood arrows and one quiver of silver-tipped arrows. Everything she needed to kill things that were hard to kill.</p>
<p>At least... as long as she wasn’t too outnumbered and they didn’t kill her first.</p>
<p>Mary had told her this was a terrible plan and she was right, but honestly, Lily didn’t care. There wasn’t much else she could do from the castle to help James, so killing dark creatures would have to do.</p>
<p>Lily <em>could not</em> sit around doing nothing anymore or she was going to explode.</p>
<p>”What’s a little warm-blooded thing like you doing down here?”</p>
<p>Lily carefully avoided eye contact with whatever was walking towards her. If it was a vamp, she wouldn’t let it compel her.</p>
<p>Shit. She needed to find out if it was a vamp.</p>
<p>She didn’t know how many were down here, so she had to conserve arrows. She couldn’t afford to use a silver one on something that wouldn’t be killed by silver.</p>
<p>“How many of you are there down here?” she asked, hoping to get a clue of what would work to kill it.</p>
<p>Whatever it was laughed, and it sounded human. No kind of unusual edge in it. Not a demon, then. Good. It would be easier to kill, then.</p>
<p>”Many.”</p>
<p>Lily could smell the scent of blood as it got closer. That didn’t narrow it down by much.</p>
<p>”You’re heavily armed for a woman.”</p>
<p>”I’m heavily armed for anyone.”</p>
<p>It laughed again, and Lily clenched her fist around her bow as it started getting too close for comfort.</p>
<p>”A mask... interesting.”</p>
<p>It was dark, but the thing was close enough now that Lily could see that it was definitely not a werewolf. It was pale enough that it might be a vampire, but it also could be a few other things.</p>
<p>Whatever. It was within attack range, and Lily was pissed off enough not to care that attacking right now might not be the smartest thing.</p>
<p>The thing looked completely shocked as Lily shot it before it could react, staking it through the heart.</p>
<p>It did die. Vampire.</p>
<p>And judging by the screech she heard from deeper in the dungeon, there were more of them, and they weren’t happy that she’d killed their friend.</p>
<p>With one slice of her knife, Lily cut the heads off her silver-tipped arrows, leaving the wooden shafts as her extra ammunition.</p>
<p>It was stupid, and it likely wouldn’t even make a significant dent in Severus’s forces, but Lily ran deeper into the dungeon to kill more vampires.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>”Dorcas, I saw my soul animal. I know what he is, now.”</p>
<p>”All three of you..? Good. It won’t be too much longer, now.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The epic conclusion: will Lily get out of the castle with James?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Am I just supposed to call you ‘stag?’”</p>
<p>The stag he was following through the magical forest, being a stag, didn’t respond.</p>
<p>Well, not in a conventional way, at least. Not verbally. But James felt just a little of the strength the stag was lending him to allow him to run almost alongside the bounding deer leave him. He took that as a ‘no.’</p>
<p>”Hmm. Well, you can’t talk, but I don’t suppose you could give me a clue?”</p>
<p>The stag glanced over at him, and James could swear that he was <em>laughing</em> at him.</p>
<p>Or maybe <em>with</em> him. It was kind of confusing, but James could sense that he wasn’t trying to be mean or anything about it. It was just that to the stag, it was obvious. To James? Not so much.</p>
<p>Or maybe it was, considering the stag <em>was</em> him, in a way.</p>
<p>Well, instinct had worked so far, so James closed his eyes and tried to sense what the stag’s name was.</p>
<p>And he ran into a tree that he could swear hadn’t been there a minute before, sending him sprawling to the forest floor.</p>
<p>Well, no one could say the spirit world didn’t have a sense of humor.</p>
<p>The stag had stopped a few feet away, his eyes clearly laughing <em>at</em> James this time.</p>
<p>“Oh, shove off,” he grumbled, “You’re me, so I bet you run into trees all the time.”</p>
<p>The stag just huffed and got closer to James, lowering his head as he did.</p>
<p>It took James a few seconds to realize that he was offering to help him up, but once he did, he gladly grabbed onto a couple prongs of his antlers to get back to standing.</p>
<p>...wait a second.</p>
<p>”Prongs,” he whispered, “That’s your name.”</p>
<p>Prongs tilted his head a little, the look in his eyes clearly saying ‘duh.’</p>
<p>”Alright, smartass. Where are we going next then?”</p>
<p>Just then, something came out of the bushes and they both jumped.</p>
<p>It was that doe from the first time James came here. Lily’s soul animal. And she seemed distressed in a very un-Lily-like way.</p>
<p>”Lily, what’s wrong?”</p>
<p>She just stared at him for a few seconds, then stumbled across the path and into the bushes, but she was gone when James tried to follow her.</p>
<p>He could’ve sworn she was limping.</p>
<p>”Does that mean that my Lily is hurt, too?”</p>
<p>Prongs shook his head, and James hadn’t known deer could look worried before now, but he looked worried. He didn’t know.</p>
<p>”Alright, mate,” he said, “Let’s just finish these little team-building exercises quick so we can go save her.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>“You should’ve been more careful.”</p>
<p>Lily rolled her eyes, trying to block out the pain, “I know.”</p>
<p>True, having a shallow but nonetheless painful wound in her side when Lily wasn’t even supposed to be seeing combat was less than ideal, but at least it wasn’t a vampire bite.</p>
<p>Still... she had to admit it would be hard to cover up, with how there was no way she was going to be able to wear a corset with that.</p>
<p>And Mary was <em>definitely</em> tying the bandages aggressively on purpose.</p>
<p>”I suppose we could tell everyone you’ve taken ill so you have an excuse to stay in your pajamas all day,” she muttered, “But still. It sure would be nice if we didn’t have anything to cover up. What were you <em>thinking</em>, Lily?”</p>
<p>”You know what I was thinking,” Lily pointed out, “That each dark creature I kill is one less James and the Marauders have to deal with.”</p>
<p>“Yes, well, a lot of good that does them if you get yourself killed.”</p>
<p>”That would certainly take the ‘fair maiden’ out of their ‘rescue fair maiden’ plan,” Lily admitted.</p>
<p>Mary snorted, “That’s only funny because you’re still alive. As for this...”</p>
<p>She tied off the end of the bandage.</p>
<p>“It will heal,” she said, “Not fast, but it will. But only if you rest. So get some sleep. I’ll tell the guards outside your door that you’re ill and they shouldn’t bother you.”</p>
<p>”No, wait, don’t!” Lily stood up fast enough to regret it, but kept talking anyway, “If you tell them I’m sick, Severus will find out. Then—“</p>
<p>”He’ll want to come to see you,” Mary realized, “And... well, we can think of some excuse to keep him out.”</p>
<p>“No, he’ll find that suspicious,” Lily started thinking about a potential solution as she sat down, “I’ll... I’ll think of something, Mary. Because we can’t let him see I’m hurt, but we can’t try to not let him see me, either because he’ll get suspicious.”</p>
<p>”Not without a <em>really</em> good excuse.” Mary muttered.</p>
<p>An excuse. That could work, if they could think of the right one.</p>
<p>Or maybe <em>they</em> didn’t have to think of one.</p>
<p>”Send for Lady McGonagall,” she said, “Say I want her here to help me through my illness in my parents’ absence.”</p>
<p>Mary nodded, grinning, “Now <em>that’s</em> an excuse.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>”Are you ready?”</p>
<p>James took a deep breath, looking over at his friends.</p>
<p>The others, besides Dorcas, of course, were just vague silhouettes in the firelight, keeping out of the way, but wanting to be there for moral support.</p>
<p>Sirius was hiding his apprehension with a confident smirk, but James didn’t see any sign of him wanting to back out.</p>
<p>Peter looked a little nervous, but he nodded, laying down.</p>
<p>They were all positioned around the fire, where Dorcas would be able to perform the spell to manifest their soul animal’s form in <em>their</em> bodies.</p>
<p>This was the riskiest part of all, of this spell to make them be able to turn into animals, considering if their resident witch lost focus for even a second, she could trap them in the spirit world forever, get them <em>and</em> their soul animals killed, or make all this planning and practicing and danger for nothing.</p>
<p>No big deal. They could do this. Just find their soul animals again in less than 10 minutes and hang onto them and not get killed by spirit world monsters.</p>
<p>They could do this. Nobody was going to die today.</p>
<p>James laid down, smiling at his friend, “Send us in, Dorcas.</p>
<p>She blew the sleeping powder at them one last time and everything went black.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>The second James landed in the forest, the ground was shaking with footsteps.</p>
<p>”Oh, come on!” he shouted to the treetops, before realizing he really needed to get moving before that monster thing caught him.</p>
<p>He needed to find Prongs. He needed to stay with him until Dorcas was ready to finish the spell.</p>
<p>The monster was definitely following him already, but James was running faster than any normal human could, the speed of a deer already propelling his feet. He was already borrowing Prongs’s strength, he just had to find the stag, himself.</p>
<p>”Prongs!” he yelled, knowing the monster was already on his tail and would be no matter how little noise he made, “Mate, where are you?”</p>
<p>Prongs was either too scared of the monster or too caught up somewhere else to respond.</p>
<p>Shit. If James didn’t have <em>physical contact </em>with his soul animal by the time Dorcas finished the spell, all this would be for nothing. <em>Ten minutes</em>. That’s was all they had. And time as already wonky in the spirit world, so James didn’t know how long he had left. They could probably manage their plan with just Sirius and Peter able to change form, except—</p>
<p>Except what if they failed, too? James needed to succeed so that even if one of his friends failed, he could pick up their slack.</p>
<p>”Prongs!” he shouted, “It’s now or never!”</p>
<p>An animal burst out of the bushes in front of him, but it wasn’t Prongs.</p>
<p>It was the doe. Lily’s doe. And she was definitely limping and her eyes looked unfocused with pain, but she clearly wanted James to follow her.</p>
<p>He nodded, “Okay.”</p>
<p>She led him to the clearing with the pond. The one she’d brought him to the first time he followed her, where Prongs was sitting, already waiting, looking like he was wondering what took James so long.</p>
<p>James stroked his soul animal’s back, “There you are, mate. Come on, we need to get moving before—“</p>
<p>The monster burst through the tree line, and James got his first clear look at it.</p>
<p>It was a rat.</p>
<p>A <em>giant</em> rat, with ginormous teeth.</p>
<p>And then James felt a yanking sensation in his chest and he was awake.</p>
<p>The fire was burning brightly still, and Dorcas looked exhausted, leaning against Marlene heavily to stand.</p>
<p>Sirius and Peter were both as sweaty and startled-looking as James felt.</p>
<p>Remus hesitated a second before entering the circle to go to Sirius’s side.</p>
<p>James did feel... <em>different</em>. It was like he could feel Prongs, still, but... well, the stag didn’t feel any separate from him anymore, even though James was quite clearly still human.</p>
<p>”Did it work?” Remus asked, looking uncertain, and it occurred to James that they probably all smelled different to him now, and that was why he looked so confused.</p>
<p>Dorcas took a deep breath, sitting heavily on the treehouse platform, “Only one way to find out.”</p>
<p>”And how’s that?” Marlene asked, sitting down beside her.</p>
<p>”The boys have to transform. I don’t know <em>how</em>, but...”</p>
<p>James did. It was like flipping a coin to the other side. He just had to switch gears, put the deer side of him on top of the human side.</p>
<p>He heard several of their friends gasp, and James realized he was sitting taller than he usually did. His head felt heavier, like there was something on top. He felt like he could run forever.</p>
<p>A big black dog was sitting next to him, panting and grinning a canine smile.</p>
<p>“Go on, Peter,” Dorcas urged.</p>
<p>James watched as his friend closed his eyes, concentrating, and then... <em>shrank</em>, growing fur as his features morphed to be more rodent-like.</p>
<p>He turned into a rat.</p>
<p>Just like the monster that had been chasing James all month, except of course much smaller.</p>
<p>Weird. Must be a coincidence.</p>
<p>Dorcas grinned, though she was clearly still exhausted. James had to wonder, with how much this took out of her, if they should’ve <em>just</em> done the spell on him and Sirius. Peter’s new little rat eyes were creeping him out a bit, anyways.</p>
<p>Oh well. Too late to go back now.</p>
<p>”Looks like we’re ready to enact our plan, boys.”</p>
<p>As he morphed back into human form, James was inclined to agree.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>”I’m sure you’re already well aware how foolish fighting an entire dungeon full of dark creatures was?”</p>
<p>Lily nodded, hoping to avoid a true lecture today.</p>
<p>“Yes, Lady McGonagall.”</p>
<p>”And I’m sure you know that this wound will take time to heal, given that it contains trace amounts of dark magic?”</p>
<p>”Yes, Lady McGonagall.”</p>
<p>”And you know that now that you are injured, you will be a liability, should you try to help young Lord Potter again?”</p>
<p>“<em>Yes</em>, Lady McGonagall.”</p>
<p>McGonagall nodded, “Well, as long as you know, I’m sure I can count on you <em>not</em> to do it again.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Lily answered, “I just hope I’m healed in time for James to get me out.”</p>
<p>”I should hope not, for if he gets you out of this castle <em>before</em> you’re healed, it would be many weeks sooner.”</p>
<p>That was... actually good logic, though Lily didn’t want to think about trying to ride a horse like this.</p>
<p>A knock sounded at the door.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Lily could guess who it was, and judging by the look on her face, Lady McGonagall could, too.</p>
<p>”I’ll get that,” she said, and Lily was honestly looking forward to seeing what she said.</p>
<p>As she opened the door, Lily closed her eyes, hoping it would look like she was asleep.</p>
<p>”Lady McGonagall. I heard Li—Lady Evans had taken ill. As a good friend of hers, I was hoping to see her and offer my well wishes.”</p>
<p>”Your well wishes are documented, but Lady Evans is resting, and will not get better unless you allow her to do so.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be brief.”</p>
<p>”Lady Evans is resting.”</p>
<p>”I know, but—“</p>
<p>”She’s resting.”</p>
<p>Lily had to smile at the amount of authority Lady McGonagall commanded even just with a few words.</p>
<p>After a couple seconds of silence, Severus cleared his throat.</p>
<p>”Right. Well, I’ll come by later?”</p>
<p>“Don’t bother,” McGonagall said dryly, “I’m sure you have other duties, Sheriff, and Lady Evans will require at least a couple days of rest to recover. Good day.”</p>
<p>With that, she closed the door in his face, and Lily grinned. This was why she’d wanted Lady McGonagall to come cover for her.</p>
<p>“I see the sheriff has taken a fancy to you.”</p>
<p>...when Petunia said that, Lily could ignore it, but when someone as sensible as Lady McGonagall said it...</p>
<p>”You really think so?”</p>
<p>She nodded gravely, “He may take it personally and try to get revenge when you betray him.”</p>
<p>Lily shrugged, “Well, I’ll have James and the Marauders to protect me. And when I heal...”</p>
<p>She pulled out the small knife she now kept under her clothes at all times.</p>
<p>”Fortunately, I took your advice.”</p>
<p>Lady McGonagall smiled, “As all the best ladies do.”</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>It was funny, how people stared at a stag a bit, but not in the same way they stared at Robin Hood.</p>
<p>Little children from the town who spotted James where he was standing on the edge of the woods just pointed at him excitedly, because children saw the beauty in everything and got excited about it.</p>
<p>They typically got pretty excited about spotting something like a stag, too, but in a different way. In a mildly afraid way.</p>
<p>It was nice not to be seen as a threat for once, which was kind of a sad thought, but even civilians who Robin Hood helped always seemed somewhat afraid of him, so James guessed he had an excuse.</p>
<p>Sirius and Remus were scouting somewhere nearby, a bit farther into town, given that a stray dog was in less danger than a stray deer and if danger did find him, someone who appeared to be human could get him out of it. Ideally, Peter was going to wait until he was actually in the castle to change form. Dorcas and Marlene were scouting possible plan B escape routes in town, too, while the Prewetts hung back to secure their plan A exit and Hagrid stayed out of sight, waiting for nightfall, like James.</p>
<p>Kingsley and the Longbottoms were... finishing up the final part of their plan. The part that would ensure Sheriff Snape would <em>never</em> find Sherwood Forest.</p>
<p>They’d planned all they could, improved plans when parts from the original plan didn’t work, but it would all come down to how well they could improvise when the plan inevitably went off the rails tonight.</p>
<p>Hopefully, nobody would get killed.</p>
<p>Funny, how being an animal so often hunted didn’t make James fear death more than he already did.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Lily had a bad feeling, like something was about to happen.</p>
<p>It had started about around dark, and she was kind of praying it was nothing even knowing it definitely wasn’t.</p>
<p>Tonight was going to be big, and Lily was really wishing she was healthy right now, because she definitely couldn’t shoot a bow or swing a sword like this and she hated feeling helpless.</p>
<p>There was a squeaking noise, and Lily looked over to see a rat squeeze under her door.</p>
<p>Oh, great. Another thing to deal with. Lady McGonagall was out of the room at the moment, and Lily couldn’t even sit up on her own to deal with it.</p>
<p>”Shoo!”</p>
<p>The rat didn’t move. It just sat there, staring at her in a very un-rat-like way.</p>
<p>Lily tried throwing a pillow at it, but it still didn’t move. It didn’t even flinch as the pillow sailed over its head, barely missing.</p>
<p>Then it stood up on its hind legs and...</p>
<p>...was the rat <em>growing</em>?</p>
<p>It was growing, its front legs elongating, the fur receding, clothes spontaneously appearing until—</p>
<p>“<em>Peter</em>?”</p>
<p>“Lily,” Peter speed-walked to her bedside, “You look terrible! What—“</p>
<p>”Am I hallucinating?” Lily asked, “You were just a rat. And now you’re you, and...what? What is happening?”</p>
<p>”It’s a long story,” Peter admitted, “It’s magic. Dorcas did some magic on me, Sirius, and James.”</p>
<p>It was one thing to know things based on evidence that could be wrong, but it was another to <em>see</em> and <em>hear</em> that it was true.</p>
<p>Lily was <em>not</em> trying not to cry at the fact that her friends and her... betrothed or whatever were still alive.</p>
<p>”What happened to you?” Peter asked, helping her sit up.</p>
<p>”A dark creature in the dungeons,” Lily explained, “I went down there to fight them, got a bad scrape, but you should see the other guy.”</p>
<p>“I see you haven’t changed.”</p>
<p>”Can’t say the same about you.”</p>
<p>Peter looked kind of awkwardly ashamed, pulling a sword out of a sheathe Lily hadn’t noticed on his back.</p>
<p>”I guess you won’t be able to use this.”</p>
<p>Lily shook her head, “Not effectively.”</p>
<p>”That complicates the plan... we’ll figure it out.”</p>
<p>“‘We’ll figure it out?’ Is that how you Marauders have been evading Severus for the last several months?”</p>
<p>”Um... yes? Dorcas should be downstairs in the stables by now. If we can just rendezvous with her, she might be able to—“</p>
<p>”She might be able to heal me,” Lily realized.</p>
<p>Peter nodded, “The only problem is getting to her.”</p>
<p>“We’ll figure it out.”</p>
<p>Peter looked like he now understood how risky ‘we’ll figure it out’ was as a plan. That was why Lily thought her own plans through so carefully; so she wouldn’t <em>have</em> to resort to that.</p>
<p>Still, it didn’t look like they had a better option right now.</p>
<p>“I think you could use this.”</p>
<p>Lily turned just in time to catch the rough-spun cloak McGonagall had tossed her.</p>
<p>A peasant cloak, like how the servants wore. No one would look twice at a girl in one of those.</p>
<p>Mary was standing next to Lady McGonagall, looking grim but determined. She was smart enough to know how risky this was, just like Lily, but she also knew they didn’t have time to think of a better plan.</p>
<p>It was now or never. They had to do their best with what they had.</p>
<p>“Wishing you luck would be pointless,” McGonagall said simply, “But I do hope the three of you make it out.”</p>
<p>“We will,” Mary said, even though she didn’t look like she believed it as she went to Lily’s side to help her walk.</p>
<p>There were several dozen guards between here and the stables. The odds of all of them making it were unlikely.</p>
<p>Still, Lily pulled her hood up, leaned on her friends, and started the journey.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>James had been sneaking through the streets of the town (in human form) for 10 minutes now, and he’d seen shadowy forms moving through the darkness, not quite following him but definitely <em>noticing</em> him, way too much for it to be his imagination.</p>
<p>He was hoping it was just Remus or Sirius, considering Dorcas, Marlene, and Peter were hopefully in the castle already, but something told him that if it was just his friends, he wouldn’t be feeling so <em>off</em> about this.</p>
<p>James was feeling <em>very</em> off about this. Something was wrong, here, and whatever was in the shadows was...</p>
<p>Well, it was probably multiple things, and they were seeing him but keeping their distance. Almost like they were watching him approach the castle.</p>
<p>James tried to convince himself it was just the town’s rats.</p>
<p>Rats creeped him out, so that was only moderately comforting compared to the thought of it being dark creatures.</p>
<p>James ended up jumping when a shape came out of the shadows, but it was only a familiar large dog.</p>
<p>”Sirius, you’re a bitch sometimes.”</p>
<p>Sirius, or, <em>Padfoot, </em>grinned at him in the way dogs did, and James wondered how they hadn’t guessed what his friend’s animal form would be before yesterday.</p>
<p>”Gonna turn into a form that can actually talk back?”</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t count on it.”</p>
<p>James damn near had a heart attack upon realizing that Remus was sliding out of the shadows to his right.</p>
<p>”He’s refused to transform back for me all day.”</p>
<p>James tilted his head at the dog, “We are sure that <em>is</em> Padfoot, right?”</p>
<p>Sirius transformed back into a human with an indignant look on his face, “Yes!”</p>
<p>Remus rolled his eyes and dodged when the other boy leaned over to try to kiss him on the cheek, “You’ve been a dog all day. God knows what your mouth has touched.”</p>
<p>”Hey!”</p>
<p>”Boys,” James said quickly, “We don’t have time for this. Castle now. Fight/flirt later.”</p>
<p>Remus nodded, “You’re right.”</p>
<p>Sirius shrugged, “I do miss Lily quite a bit.”</p>
<p>“Well then, let’s go get her!”</p>
<p>That was when, just as according to plan, something on the east side of the castle exploded.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>They were moving too slow and too fast at the same time.</p>
<p>Too slow because it was too slow to look normal, and too fast because it was making her side ache with every step.</p>
<p>Mary and Peter were doing their best and Lily would still be shocked if they made it to the stables.</p>
<p>Then something exploded, and suddenly moving strangely was no longer a concern because everyone was so distracted by the explosion.</p>
<p>”What—“</p>
<p>”That’ll be Hagrid,” Peter muttered, straining under a good portion of Lily’s weight, “He’s got a cannon out in the hills aimed at the side of the castle with magic cannonballs.”</p>
<p>”He what now?” Mary panted.</p>
<p>“Doesn’t matter. It’s a distraction.”</p>
<p>They made it to the stables and—</p>
<p>Oh, God, Lily had missed Dorcas and Marlene.</p>
<p>They’d been two of her best female friends, once upon a time.</p>
<p>“Lily!”</p>
<p>She barely felt the pain when Marlene ran to hug her, just <em>so relieved</em> that her friend was alive and here with her.</p>
<p>Lily had <em>really</em> missed Marlene. There was no one who had her kind of optimism.</p>
<p>”Dorcas, she’s hurt bad,” she heard Peter say, “Can you—“</p>
<p>”Lily, how the fresh hell did you hurt yourself being a proper lady locked in a castle?”</p>
<p>Dorcas dragged her over to a large pile of hay in the corner, pulling some things out of her bag as she did.</p>
<p>”Lay down and tell me everything.”</p>
<p>“There were a bunch of vampires in the dungeons,” Lily explained.</p>
<p>“Damn, and one of them got you?”</p>
<p>”What about you?” Lily shot back, “A spy of mine told me there were dark creatures out here, too. Probably some kind of demon, kept in covered cages.”</p>
<p>”We took care of those. Marlene and I killed them. Back to you. What did you do?”</p>
<p>“Uh... long story short, there aren’t any vampires in the dungeon anymore, but one of them got a lucky hit.”</p>
<p>“Lily Evans, are you implying that you went  and fought an entire nest of vampires alone?”</p>
<p>“Possibly.”</p>
<p>Dorcas squashed some herbs in her hand, making them evaporate into magic before focusing on Lily’s wound.</p>
<p>”You’re an idiot.”</p>
<p>”Thanks,” Lily muttered, “Already heard it from Mary and Lady McGonagall.”</p>
<p>”Well then, you know how monumentally stupid that was. You know, you and James deserve each other. You’re both reckless idiots. And... I’m done. How does that feel?”</p>
<p>Lily sat up, “Um... better.”</p>
<p>The pain wasn’t completely gone, but it was definitely a lot better, so she could focus on other things.</p>
<p>”How <em>is</em> James?”</p>
<p>“Still reckless and stupid,” Dorcas muttered, putting her supplies back in her bag, “But about the same as you’d remember him. He can turn into a stag now.”</p>
<p>”That is <em>not</em> how I remember him, but alright.”</p>
<p>Marlene pulled some clothes out of her bag and tossed them to her, “Put these on. You can’t flee the castle dressed as impractically as that.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.”</p>
<p>Lily ducked into a horse stall and tried to change her clothes quickly.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>James’s hearing was definitely better than it used to be, because he could hear the soldiers saying that Lady Evans had been abducted from the bottom of the castle walls with no problem, even though they were high enough that he <em>shouldn’t</em> be able to hear them.</p>
<p>Sirius grinned at him, signalling that he’d heard it, too.</p>
<p>”I guess Peter succeeded at getting Lily out.”</p>
<p>“Yes, but now the entire castle is looking for her,” Remus pointed out.</p>
<p>”Which means they aren’t looking for us,” James countered, slipping in through a hole at the bottom corner of the gate Sirius had dug earlier.</p>
<p>He managed to transform into a stag just in time for a soldier to not see Robin Hood.</p>
<p>Said soldier appeared to have bigger things to worry about, because he just did a double take and then moved on, running for his post.</p>
<p>Sirius, in Padfoot’s form, exchanged a worried look with James, realizing that Remus wouldn’t go even slightly unnoticed the way they did.</p>
<p>Still, they slipped through the shadows, heading towards the stables.</p>
<p>Then Remus stopped suddenly, sniffing the air and growling low in his throat.</p>
<p>James could smell it, too, with his newly enhanced senses. Something... wild, but not animal-like. Almost...</p>
<p>Almost like Remus smelled, only mixed with blood.</p>
<p>A man, or more specifically, a werewolf, was standing across the courtyard.</p>
<p>Remus drew his dagger, “Get Lily. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.”</p>
<p>”Remus—“</p>
<p>One look was enough to silence Sirius, who had turned into his human form and looked terrified out of his mind.</p>
<p>”I have to do this,” the werewolf said firmly, “I can do this. Get Lily. James said she might be injured already. She needs you more than I do.”</p>
<p>Sirius still looked like he wanted to do anything but leave, but he glanced over at Greyback standing over in the darkness, kissed his love one more time, and turned back into a dog to sneak the rest of the way, leaving him to his fight.</p>
<p>James hated this almost as much as his best friend did, but he had to believe that Remus would be fine. Remus was a skilled warrior, and smart enough to identify weaknesses. He could win this fight.</p>
<p>And he was right. Lily needed them more, so she was who they needed to focus on right now.</p>
<p>They morphed back into human form to get in the door of the stables.</p>
<p>”Dorcas?” James hissed, “Marlene?”</p>
<p>”Here,” Peter responded, coming out from a horse stall, the girls not far behind.</p>
<p>Dorcas and Marlene, plus Mary MacDonald.</p>
<p>James gave her a smile, “Good to see you, Mary. Where’s Lily?”</p>
<p>”Changing,” Marlene answered quickly, “You can’t very well ride to safety in a white silk nightgown.”</p>
<p>Oh, of course. That was why they’d had Marlene pack a spare pair of pants, boots, and a tunic that should be about Lily’s size.</p>
<p>It hit kind of suddenly that James was about to see her again, for the first time in nearly two years.</p>
<p>The love of his life, as long as he’d denied he had feelings for her.</p>
<p>Then suddenly, she was right there at the other end of the stables, twisting her hair up in a ribbon to get it out of the way.</p>
<p>She looked just as shocked to see him as he was to see her, and it occurred to James that he was wearing his mask, but he couldn’t move to take it off.</p>
<p>Lily wasn’t so frozen, walking quickly up to him and punching him in the shoulder, not as hard as she could, but not lightly either.</p>
<p>James scoffed, “What was that for?”</p>
<p>”For not taking me with you when you faked your death,” she responded, “You took <em>all</em> of our friends and you didn’t think I could handle it, huh?”</p>
<p>”No,” James struggled for words to defend himself, “I wanted to bring you, Lily. It’s just it was harder to get you out than any of the others. We’ve been trying this whole time to—“</p>
<p>”I know, Potter.”</p>
<p>James froze as Lily hugged him.</p>
<p>He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her touch.</p>
<p>”I never gave up on you.”</p>
<p>”I know,” she admitted, “When I found out you were Robin Hood, I knew you’d come.”</p>
<p>That was nice to hear. James didn’t want this moment to end, like... ever.</p>
<p>”Let her go!”</p>
<p>Of course it had to end.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Severus was standing at the other end of the stables, with a bow aimed at James’s head.</p>
<p>He wouldn’t shoot. They both knew he wouldn’t risk hitting Lily, so as long as she stayed in front of James, he was safe.</p>
<p>”Sorry,” he muttered before grabbing onto her probably too tight and pretending to hold Lily hostage.</p>
<p>That was a terrible plan that could only blow up in their faces in a hundred ways, but Lily didn’t get a word in before the boys were talking again.</p>
<p>”The lady is coming with me,” James said, deepening his voice to disguise it.</p>
<p>”No, she’s not,” Severus readjusted and Lily was alarmed to see him now pointing the bow at Sirius.</p>
<p>This was dangerous. He could definitely hit at least one of them before James could stop him.</p>
<p>”You can’t win,” Severus declared, “Even now, my forces are mobilizing for a strike on Sherwood Forest. It doesn’t matter where your little hideaway is in there—we’re going to burn it to the ground and your remaining Marauders with it.”</p>
<p>”That’s where you’re wrong.”</p>
<p>James actually sounded... <em>confident</em> about that. Like he actually did know that Severus wouldn’t burn the forest or any friends he had left in there.</p>
<p>He had a plan. It probably wasn’t a good thing that Lily was surprised by that, but he definitely had a plan.</p>
<p>”You see, this morning, I had our resident witch collapse the cloaking spell on our ‘little hideaway,’ as you call it. As we speak, our dryad allies and the few Marauders still there are destroying it and escaping to a secondary location, so... by all means. Go burn Sherwood Forest. The dryads know we left in an attempt to protect ourselves <em>and</em> them, so if you attack now, their only enemy will be you.”</p>
<p>Lily saw doubt flicker in Severus’s eyes.</p>
<p>He knew he couldn’t attack a forest when he couldn’t be sure the local magical creatures would blame Robin Hood. Dryads didn’t forget those who wronged them, and they could be <em>very</em> dangerous when angry. That, and they lived a lot longer than humans. They and their friends would never stop coming after you. </p>
<p>No sane commander would wage war on nature itself.</p>
<p>Then again, the thought registered that the person Severus was working for, Lord Voldemort, didn’t seem particularly sane with what little Lily knew about him. And she already knew Lord Malfoy and Severus were afraid of him.</p>
<p>It would take a push to make him surrender.</p>
<p>”Severus!” Lily called, “You can’t attack the forest! The nature spirits will blame you and destroy the entire kingdom!”</p>
<p>Severus just sneered, still focusing on James, “You think you’ve won? All you’ve done is buy yourself some time. I’ll find you again, and when I do, you’ll meet your end. Now let Lily go. She’s just a lady. She’s worth nothing to you.”</p>
<p>Besides her own offense, Lily could practically <em>feel</em> the rage radiating off of James.</p>
<p>”She’s worth more than you ever have or will be.”</p>
<p>Screw it. Lily was done letting men fight her battles. She had to do this for herself for once.</p>
<p>She tapped James’s wrist twice, waited a second, and then three times. Their old tap out signal from fights when they were children.</p>
<p>James stiffened up a little, but let go, much to Severus’s shock.</p>
<p>”Lily,” he said when he refocused, “Walk over here slowly. Get behind me. I’ll protect you.”</p>
<p>No turning back now.</p>
<p>Lily shook her head, “No.”</p>
<p>She kept herself in front of James, knowing  her former friend would shoot him if she didn’t.</p>
<p>”I’m going with them,” she said forcefully, “I’m becoming a Marauder.”</p>
<p>Severus shook his head, “I know you see his point of view to an extent, Lily, but—“</p>
<p>“I know what you did, Sev!”</p>
<p>That made him be quiet, and Lily balled her hands into fists in rage.</p>
<p>“I know you could have warned the Potters and you didn’t,” she hissed, “Because of what? A childhood grudge you couldn’t let go of?”</p>
<p>”Listen, I know you loved James, but he was a—“</p>
<p>”He was better than you,” Lily said coldly, “He would have wanted me to fight for those who can’t fight back. He would want me to fight at Robin Hood’s side.”</p>
<p>She couldn’t tell if James was so tense because of the arrow still aimed at his best friend, or because he was trying not to laugh.</p>
<p>It <em>was</em> kind of funny, talking about him like he was dead when everyone in this room knew he wasn’t <em>except</em> Severus.</p>
<p>“Even if you really do want to become one of them, you can’t! You’re a <em>lady</em>!”</p>
<p>Lily let her rage boil over for the first time in months, finally saying what she was thinking.</p>
<p>”You only think that because you haven’t been paying attention! You see what you want to see with me, and you want to see me as weak and passive when I <em>never</em> have been! Who do you think has been outwitting you and freeing prisoners for the last several months? Who did you think killed all the vampires in the dungeons last night?”</p>
<p>Lily watched the bow dip as he lost focus with the realization.</p>
<p>”Your biggest mistake has been underestimating me,” she said coldly, “I’ve been in control of what goes on in this castle for months and you didn’t even know. And the funny part is that I never would have won so many rounds of this game if you had considered me a player.”</p>
<p>A slight exaggeration, saying that Lily controlled <em>all</em> of what went on in the castle, but she thought it illustrated her point well.</p>
<p>He was effectively distracted, but not enough as his gaze hardened and he pulled back the bowstring.</p>
<p>And released, shooting straight and true at Sirius.</p>
<p>And a hand caught the arrow.</p>
<p>An already-bloodied hand, belonging to another one of Lily’s friends who she’d thought was dead.</p>
<p>Remus looked like hell, but his reflexes were still as <em>crazy</em> good as Lily remembered.</p>
<p>Some of the blood he was covered in looked like it was his, but there was much too much of it to be coming from the wounds Lily could see.</p>
<p>”I just beat the hell out of your top wolf,” he said calmly, “You have no alliance with the pack without him. But if you hurry to find a doctor, letting us escape, you might be able to save Greyback’s worthless life.”</p>
<p>Lily watched as Severus weighed the options, then lowered his bow, giving James a stare full of hate as he started heading for the door.</p>
<p>His eyes softened, but not much, as he looked at Lily.</p>
<p>”You’re really going with them?”</p>
<p>Lily nodded firmly, hoping he wouldn’t waste time trying to change her mind.</p>
<p>”I hope it doesn’t get you killed.”</p>
<p>She couldn’t say she particularly shared the sentiment anymore as she turned back to James, looking around at her friends, all back together again, finally.</p>
<p>”What now?” she asked.</p>
<p>”Now, we steal some horses and ride to our new home,” James said with a grin, “Maybe start making plans to put more of a stitch in Sheriff Butt Trumpet’s side.”</p>
<p>Lily could live with that. She’d have to tell them all about their other enemy eventually, but she could live with that.</p>
<p>”Let’s get going, then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Admittedly, this was really hard to write towards the end. I lost inspiration and I almost just abandoned this. But I hope you guys enjoyed this anyway! Have a nice day!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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